John McEnroe has added his voice to the debate over how Grand Slam tennis should be structured, after Novak Djokovic again pushed for a significant rethink of the scoring system.

McEnroe, a former world No 1 with 77 singles titles, including seven majors, and 77 men’s doubles titles, including nine majors, remains one of the sport’s most recognisable figures. He has spent much of his retirement working as a commentator and analyst at the Grand Slams, and he is present at the 2026 US Open in his ESPN role.

The discussion comes after Djokovic was forced through a demanding five-set opening-round defeat to Mariano Navone at the US Open. The 24-time Grand Slam champion, who now owns a 42-13 record in five-set matches, was visibly affected physically in the loss. Djokovic had recently argued that tennis should move toward a different scoring model.

Asked for an opinion that might be unpopular with fans, Djokovic said: “We should change the format of the scoring.

“Not play up to six games in the set, play it up to four, possibly no advantage. Best-of-five sets, keep the matches within a two-hour window. It’s best for everyone.”

McEnroe responded by acknowledging the changing nature of modern attention spans while also stressing why Djokovic has been so successful. “People’s attention spans are shorter than ever,” said McEnroe.

“But Novak has won so much precisely because he was able to last longer than others.

“He was fitter than anyone had ever been and won matches that lasted five hours or more.

“He was much harder to beat in best-of-five-set matches than in best-of-three-set matches.”

McEnroe then put forward his own idea for the majors. “For Grand Slams, I would recommend a match tie-break when the score is two sets all, rather than a full fifth set,” the 67-year-old added.

He also repeated his view that the five-minute on-court warmup before matches should be “abolished immediately.”

McEnroe later addressed prize money as well, arguing that the current split does not go far enough. He said players should receive 20% of a Grand Slam’s total profits, and that the broader distribution of money should improve across the board.

The list of absentees at the 2026 US Open has grown again after two more players withdrew before their opening matches were due to begin.

Main draw action at the 146th edition of the tournament began on Sunday, although several first-round matches remain unfinished because of rain interruptions on Day 3. The event, the fourth and final Grand Slam of the season, is being held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York City.

A total of 24 players have now withdrawn from the men’s and women’s singles draws combined.

Jannik Sinner, Victoria Mboko, Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper were among the 18 players who withdrew before the draws were released on Thursday. Since then, six more have pulled out before their first-round matches, with Thanasi Kokkinakis and Tereza Valentova the latest to be ruled out through injury.

Kokkinakis had been scheduled to meet world No 13 Rafael Jodar in the men’s draw, while Valentova was set to face 25th-ranked Anastasia Potapova in the women’s event.

Casper Ruud, Joao Fonseca, Ugo Humbert and Marin Cilic were the other players to withdraw before their opening-round matches.

The men’s list now includes Sinner, Ruud, Fonseca, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Ugo Humbert, Ethan Quinn, Sebastian Korda, Holger Rune, Marin Cilic, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Gabriel Diallo, Emilio Nava, Patrick Kypson and Jack Draper. On the women’s side, the withdrawals are Victoria Mboko, Hailey Baptiste, Jaqueline Cristian, Tereza Valentova, Emma Raducanu, Irina-Camelia Begu, Jil Teichmann, Ajla Tomljanovic, Laura Siegemund and Varvara Gracheva.

Several replacements have already been listed across both draws, with alternates and lucky losers stepping in where possible.

Alex Eala opened her 2026 US Open campaign with a clear statement, rolling past qualifier Mary Stoiana and moving up in the Live WTA Rankings.

The No. 17 seed needed little time to assert herself on Tuesday evening, beating the 122nd-ranked American 6-1, 6-2 in the first round of the hard-court Grand Slam. Eala controlled the match from start to finish, breaking Stoiana twice in each set while also showing stability behind her own serve. She saved all six break points she faced.

Conditions were not entirely straightforward. The match was played with the roof closed on Louis Armstrong Stadium because of rain on Day 3 of the US Open, but Eala managed the setting well and advanced without dropping a set.

The 21-year-old’s reward is a second-round meeting with Oleksandra Oliynykova, a 25-year-old Ukrainian who is ranked 46th in the world. Eala is now into the second round of the US Open for the second time. She previously reached that stage during her main draw debut last year.

After the win, Eala reflected on the differences she felt compared with her first appearance in the tournament. “It felt different [to last year], definitely,” Eala said in her press conference. “But not to say that one is more challenging than the other.

“It’s just different circumstances. It was my first time playing one of the main stadiums here in the US Open and it was very loud.

“And especially when the roof is covered. So that’s something that adds to the atmosphere, but it’s also something you have to navigate.

“Coming in as a seeded player and having done pretty good, I would say this American swing, it brings a different vibe.

“Of course, you’re a little more confident. There’s a little more expectations, but I think I handled it.”

Eala began the tournament at a career-high No. 18 after winning 10 matches across Washington DC, Toronto and Cincinnati. Following this victory, she is projected to rise two places to No. 16 in the Live WTA Rankings on 2,216 points, having earned 70 ranking points from the opening round.

Iva Jovic and Naomi Osaka, both above Eala at the start of the event, have dropped to 17th and 18th in the Live Rankings after points fell away from 2025.