Rennae Stubbs has criticised John McEnroe after his remarks at the end of the US Open drew another wave of attention.

The discussion followed Alexander Zverev’s 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 win over Ben Shelton on Sunday, a result that extended America’s wait for a new men’s singles champion. As ESPN closed its coverage of the season’s final major, Chris Fowler pointed out that Zverev had ended the tournament with his second Grand Slam title of 2026.

McEnroe then turned his attention to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz had been out for more than four months with a wrist injury, while Sinner missed the event because of a knee issue. McEnroe said, “ Get healthy, Carlos and Jannik”, and Fowler replied, “Please.” The exchange may have drawn a light reaction from McEnroe, but it prompted strong criticism elsewhere.

Some online called the remark churlish, while others said he should be dropped from the broadcaster. Stubbs, Serena Williams’ coach, later added her own view, saying the line should never have been aired. On The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, she said, “I don’t know if you heard John McEnroe’s last words on the ESPN coverage.

“He says, ‘Come back, Carlos and Jannik, please’. I was like, bro, that was a little inappropriate. That’s the **** you say in your head, not on a mic.”

McEnroe’s closing comment also brought renewed attention to criticism he received earlier in the event. After Mariano Navone upset Novak Djokovic in the first round, McEnroe focused on where the Argentine would be playing next rather than the scale of the victory.

“You’ll be playing your second round on Court 21. We wish you the best. And he is going to have to try and play with that effort and intensity but enjoy the moment, young man,” he said.

The problem was that there is no Court 21 at Flushing Meadows. Navone would later reach the third round for the first time before losing to compatriot Tomas Martin Etcheverry in straight sets.

Jessica Pegula has withdrawn from the Singapore Open, removing the tournament’s top seed after what she described as “a long and physically demanding few weeks”. The world No 3 had been set to lead the WTA 500 entry list, but said she is “not quite ready” to return after a packed North American hard-court stretch that left her with 19 matches in just over a month.

Pegula’s results over that period show how busy the run has been. She opened with a runners-up finish at the Washington DC Open, then reached the round of 16 at the Canadian Open. She later went back to the United States, where she lost the Cincinnati Open final before falling in the semi-final of the US Open.

“I’m really disappointed to have to withdraw from Singapore,” she wrote on social media. “After a long and physically demanding few weeks at the US Open, I’m just not quite ready to get back on court and compete at the level I expect from myself.

“I was really looking forward to playing in Singapore and hope I can come back in the future.”

Organisers have not yet announced her replacement, but Pegula is the third seeded player to withdraw and the seventh player overall to pull out of the event.

World No 13 Diana Shnaider, who had been in line to seed fourth, also withdrew, as did fifth seed Sorana Cirstea, ranked No 15. Ekaterina Alexandrova, Anastasia Potapova, Ann Li and Clara Tauson are the other withdrawals.

The reshuffle has already moved several players into new positions. Alycia Parks, Daria Kasatkina, Talia Gibson and Aliaksandra Sasnovich have entered the main draw after earlier withdrawals. World No 5 Mirra Andreeva will now replace Pegula as top seed, while Amanda Anisimova will lead the bottom half.

World No 18 Alex Eala rises to third seed, with Elise Mertens, Maja Chwalinska, Sara Bejlek, Maria Sakkari and Barbora Krejcikova completing the seeded list.

Mertens is the defending champion after beating Li in the final of the inaugural edition in February 2025. The tournament has since been upgraded from a WTA 250 to a WTA 500 and moved to September.

Spain head into their Davis Cup qualifier against Chile without Carlos Alcaraz, with the trip to South America shaping up as a demanding assignment.

Alcaraz returned to competition at the US Open after a four-month absence caused by a wrist injury and reached the quarter-finals, but that short comeback window still left him in no position to be considered for team duty. Spain captain David Ferrer said the decision to leave out the world No 3 had effectively been made well before the squad was announced.

“Carlos, until the very last minute, there were doubts about whether or not he would play the US Open, so he was in a difficult position to compete,” Ferrer said.

“Obviously, the Davis Cup was very difficult for him to be with us, so from the very start I knew that scenario was practically impossible.

“Since then, Carlos has been making good progress; he had a great US Open and hopefully we’ll have the chance to reach the finals because he’ll certainly be with us then.”

Spain also do not have world No 30 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina available, which leaves them with a mixed group for the tie in Santiago. The squad is headed by 19-year-old Rafael Jodar, the highest-ranked player at No 14 in the ATP Rankings, and he will make his Davis Cup debut alongside 21-year-old Daniel Meida, ranked No 41, and 20-year-old Martin Landaluce, who sits at No 62.

The more experienced pair, Jaume Munar and Pedro Martinez, both 29, are set to handle doubles duties.

Chile, meanwhile, will look to use home conditions to their advantage. Captain Nicolas Massu said: “My priority was to put Chile among the best in the world. Having an opportunity to play against Spain at home is something we have to take advantage of,” the former world No 9 said.

“We’re going to approach this series with conviction. You live to face the best in the world. This generation can give much more to Chilean tennis.”

Chile advanced by beating a Novak Djokovic-less Serbia 4-0 in the first round of qualifiers, while Spain entered this stage as the runners-up from the 2025 tournament.