Aryna Sabalenka’s place atop the rankings could be decided by Elena Rybakina, but the defending champion says her attention is elsewhere as the US Open enters its decisive phase.

Rybakina would move to world No 1 if she defeats Zheng Qinwen in the quarter-finals in New York, yet Sabalenka has made clear that the chase for a third straight title at Flushing Meadows matters more to her than the ranking picture. A recent dip in form has allowed Rybakina to close in, but Sabalenka continues to speak in terms of a “three-peat” rather than the No 1 race.

Her title defence stayed alive with a dramatic 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(7) victory over Wimbledon Linda Noskova in a gruelling match on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Afterward, Sabalenka was asked whether she would be content with a third US Open crown even if it meant finishing the tournament outside the top spot.

“Of course. I’ll be more than happy. Three-peat… sounds great,” she said.

“I’m just super happy that I put myself in the position where I have chance to go for the three-peat, even though I’m still far away from that.

“I’m super happy to put myself in a position for a three-peat, even though I’m a long way from that.”

Sabalenka also reflected on how close the contest came to turning against her. “I’m really happy the way I finished the match with a second serve ace,” she added. “I’m happy that I stayed aggressive throughout the whole match and trusted my shots.

“At some point in the third set, she was definitely serving better than me. But I was able to focus point by point and build something. I played with great intensity and that gave me so much confidence that I can still get the win in this match.”

Sabalenka is now on an 18-match winning run at the US Open, and if she reaches 20, she will be celebrating again on Saturday.

Alex Eala has been one of the sharpest performers on the tour lately, yet her serve remains the part of her game that draws the most attention. It is markedly slower than much of the WTA Tour, which has often left her leaning on the quality of her return to stay alive in matches.

That issue came up on a recent episode of Off Court with Greg, where Greg Rusedski said he would be keen to help Eala improve that side of her game. His assessment was direct, pointing to technical details he believes are holding the serve back.

“If I’m looking at her serve, I think her elbow position and throwing position need to get better, as well as the way she starts the motion, because there’s not enough tilt, in my opinion, especially with the front shoulder and the back shoulder,” said Rusedski about Eala’s serve.

He added that the setup is too rigid and explained why that matters for the motion and power production.

“So it’s too square. And when you’re square, it’s really hard. You’d never throw a ball like that. For me, that’s the first thing I’d work on, because if you can change that angle, which isn’t that difficult a thing to do, but it’s making it a habit that takes a little bit longer, then she can use the explosiveness of the elbow to throw and loosen up the wrist on the serve, which would definitely get her a few MPH.

“I’d love to have a crack at it. I don’t know if I’d ever be invited to do so. But during the offseason, that would be something I would be very interested in doing because if she gets the serve, it just opens up everything.”

Eala is currently working with Joan Bosch, whom she met at the Rafael Nadal Academy, while she has also been training recently with Toni Nadal.

Rusedski brings a coaching background of his own. After retiring in the mid-2000s, he worked as a development coach for the Lawn Tennis Association from 2007 to 2016, then became Great Britain Junior Davis Cup captain. He worked with Kyle Edmund and also spent time with Heather Watson and Johanna Konta. He had a brief spell with Victoria Azarenka between July and September 2024, and this year he also worked with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard after his split with Francisco Roig.

Alexander Zverev has looked back on his 2026 Wimbledon final defeat to Jannik Sinner and explained why the loss left him “p***ed off” afterwards.

The German was beaten 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4 by the world No 1 in the championship match at the All England Club in July. It was a significant step for Zverev, who had never previously gone beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon before this year’s tournament.

The 29-year-old arrived in London trying to add a second straight Grand Slam title to his record after winning his first major at the 2026 French Open. Although the final ended in defeat, his level drew praise in a conversation with tennis icon John McEnroe that was shared by Outside the Ball on X/Twitter.

McEnroe said: “You won the French. You had not had a lot of success in Wimbledon, but you played great there. Assess the match with Jannik Sinner. I mean, I called the match, but I thought you played great. You know, tell me if you disagree. It was a highly competitive match.

“You were very aggressive, and maybe as aggressive [as] I’ve ever seen you play, certainly on that surface. I would think, all things considered, you had to be extremely happy about that result as well.”

Zverev did not hide his disappointment, even while acknowledging the importance of reaching the final. He said: “I was happy that I made it to the Wimbledon final, of course, but I was still, I was a little bit, you know, p***ed off that I lost the match, because I felt like the match got a little bit out of my hand, because I won the first set.

“I lost the second set in a tie break, and then I had break points in the third set to go up a break, and I haven’t lost my serve at all in that match until that moment, and I felt like I was right there, and I even felt like I was playing better than he was in that moment.

“And then I slipped… I slipped, and then my two bones in my knee hit each other, and then I struggled to serve after that. I couldn’t push off up anymore, which then, he started to return my serve a lot more.

“We were a lot more in the rallies on my serve, and he then ended up winning the third and fourth sets, but I still felt like that match, I could have won, and of course, winning Wimbledon is one of the biggest things in tennis.

“But again, I’m fine with it, because I feel like I’ll get another chance, and I’ll get another couple of chances, and if I continue doing the same thing, I will hopefully lift the trophy one day.”