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Sharapova backs Coco Gauff as her pick for the 2025 US Open

Sharapova picks Coco Gauff for the 2025 US Open as she receives a Hall of Fame ring. in Arthur Ashe.

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Maria Sharapova used her return to Arthur Ashe Stadium to make a clear choice for the 2025 US Open champion: Coco Gauff. The former world number one received a commemorative ring on the tournament’s opening day following her recent induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

Sharapova’s career résumé was noted during the ceremony: 36 singles titles, including five Grand Slams, and 21 weeks at world number one across a professional career from 2001 to 2020. Addressing the crowd she reflected on her time in New York and the significance of the honour. “New York City, what a special place and special court.

“You people have made such an incredible impact on my journey and my career. I have had some of the most beautiful moments on this court and some of the most challenging.

“You’ve witnessed me grow up from being a young girl wearing an Audrey Hepburn-inspired night dress to now 19 years later accepting this beautiful ring and this amazing honour. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for making this event so special.”

In a media appearance around the event Sharapova was asked who she expected to lift the trophy. “You’re putting me on the spot, this was supposed to be an easy interview,” said Sharapova. “I want Coco.” The pick notably bypassed the tournament favourites Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka mentioned in surrounding coverage.

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Sharapova was introduced at her Hall of Fame induction by Serena Williams, who framed their rivalry and mutual drive in praise. “Maria and I were once the fiercest of rivals. We had our differences. To the world, we were miles and miles apart, but the truth is we weren’t,” Williams said.

“We wanted the exact same thing at the exact same time: to be the very best. In our sport, only one person can walk away with the trophy, and what’s really wrong with wanting to be your best? Nothing. In fact, it’s what drove us. That’s what made our rivalry so electric and so iconic.”

“There are only a few players in my career who challenged me to be the very best, every single time we stepped out on the court. Maria Sharapova was one of them. Whenever I saw her name next to mine in the draw, I made sure I practiced harder.”

Sharapova closed her remarks about Williams with gratitude. “It’s a gift to have someone who motivates you to reach those heights. And I’ll forever be grateful for bringing out the best in me.

“We both knew no other way than to fight our hearts out… We both hated to lose more than anything on this earth, and we both knew that the other was the biggest obstacle between ourselves and the trophy.”

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Grand Slam Media

Draper and Dimitrov miss direct entry for 2026 US Open

Draper and Dimitrov are outside the 2026 US Open cut and may need qualifying or a wildcard.

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Jack Draper and Grigor Dimitrov are not yet guaranteed a place in the 2026 US Open main draw, with both players outside the direct entry cut and now reliant on qualifying or a wildcard.

The pair have slipped out of the ATP top 100, leaving them on the alternate list for Flushing Meadows. Dimitrov is currently ranked No 142, with Draper five places behind him. World No 101 Francisco Comesana is the lowest-ranked player to earn direct entry, while more than 40 players sit ahead of Draper and Dimitrov in the queue.

Draper’s season has been heavily disrupted. He has played only 13 top-level matches in 2026 after beginning the year late because of an arm injury that kept him out of the Australian Open. He later picked up a knee injury during the build-up to the French Open. Draper eventually returned at the Eastbourne Open, where he reached the semi-final, but he was then forced to miss Wimbledon because of his long-standing arm issue. After starting the year at No 10, he now sits at No 147, though he could climb a few places soon with a run of events scheduled, including next week’s Washington DC Open and the Brownsburg ATP 75 Challenger.

Dimitrov has also endured a difficult year. He lost in the first round of the Australian Open and fell in qualifying at Roland Garros. A wildcard brought him into Wimbledon, where he reached the fourth round before losing to Arthur Fery from Great Britain.

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Fery’s Wimbledon surge helped lift him into the top 40, and he is now ranked No 36. That rise has earned him a direct Grand Slam main-draw place for the first time.

Holger Rune is another notable name on the entry list as he tries to return after the Achilles injury he suffered last October. Stan Wawrinka does not appear on the list.

The draw is led by Jannik Sinner, followed by Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alex de Minaur, Ben Shelton, Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli and Taylor Fritz. Alcaraz remains the defending champion after beating Sinner in last year’s final.

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Raducanu on US Open entry list as Mboko absence stands out

Raducanu is on the US Open entry list, while Mboko is the headline absentee for New York.

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The 2026 US Open entry list has been published, and Emma Raducanu is included as she targets a return from injury at the final Grand Slam of the season. The most notable absentee is Victoria Mboko.

Raducanu has not played on the WTA Tour since finishing runner-up at the Queen’s Club Championship. A stress fracture in her right shin forced her out of the Nottingham Open, Eastbourne Open and Wimbledon, and she was later ruled out of the WTA 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati as well.

Her place on the entry list does not guarantee a start, though it does suggest she remains in contention for Flushing Meadows. The same uncertainty surrounded Wimbledon, where she held a press conference on the Sunday before the tournament and said she hoped to play the following day before withdrawing hours later.

If she does compete in New York, match sharpness could be an issue. Unless she plays the Monterrey Open, the final warm-up event from 23-29 August, she would reach the US Open without hard-court match practice.

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Mboko will miss a second straight major because of a knee injury. The world No 12 picked up the problem during her opening singles match at Queen’s Club, then withdrew from Wimbledon and will also miss her title defence at the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati event.

Hailey Baptiste remains sidelined too after damaging her anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in her left knee during the second round of the French Open. That setback came after she reached the Madrid Open semi-final and climbed to No 25 in the WTA Rankings.

Varvara Gracheva is the other top-100 player absent, with an ACL injury sustained in training in March.

At the top of the draw, Aryna Sabalenka heads the field and is followed by Elena Rybakina, with the rest of the top 10 also present. Anastasia Zakharova is the final direct entry by ranking at world No 102, while Ella Seidel is first alternate. Five players have used a special ranking: Lois Boisson, Irina-Camelia Begu, Aoi Ito, Jil Teichmann and Mananchaya Sawangkaew.

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ATP French Open Grand Slam

Auger-Aliassime Reaches Career-High No. 4 After Breakthrough at Roland Garros

Auger-Aliassime rises to No. 4 after best Roland Garros run, tying second-highest Canadian rank. Now

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Felix Auger-Aliassime moved to a career-high No. 4 in the ATP rankings following his deepest run at Roland Garros, where the 25-year-old reached the quarterfinals for the first time before losing to eventual finalist Flavio Cobolli. The result completed a personal Grand Slam milestone: having previously reached the quarterfinals or better at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, he became the first Canadian man to reach the quarterfinals or better at all four majors in his career.

The rise from No. 6 to No. 4 surpasses his prior best of No. 5 and places him tied for the second-highest-ranked Canadian in ATP or WTA rankings history. The only other Canadians to reach the top four are Milos Raonic and Bianca Andreescu. Raonic went as high as No. 3 in 2016, following his run to the Wimbledon final that year, and Andreescu peaked at No. 4 in 2019 after winning the US Open.

Canadian tennis has seen seven players reach the top 10 in either ATP or WTA history, with official rankings available since 1973 for the ATP and 1975 for the WTA.

Auger-Aliassime still has ground to cover to move higher in the standings. He is 2,865 points behind the current world No. 3, Alexander Zverev, with the rankings showing Zverev at 7,305 points and Auger-Aliassime at 4,440.

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The Canadian will shift his focus to grass. He begins his grass-court season this week at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, entering as the No. 1 seed. After a first-round bye he will open against either Hubert Hurkacz or Marton Fucsovics.

The new ranking reflects a season of important progress for Auger-Aliassime and cements his place among the highest-ranked Canadians in modern tennis history.

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