Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open return brought him to the quarterfinals, but the mood around his exit has not been as straightforward as his own words suggested. In his first event back after an injury lay-off, the Spaniard chose to test the wrist injury he picked up in April in a best-of-five-set Grand Slam, a demanding setting for any comeback.

Alcaraz said he was surprised by how he played in New York and insisted he could walk off with a positive feeling after falling in a fifth-set tie-break to Ben Shelton in a close last-eight match. “I leave the court happy,” Alcaraz said. “I leave the court with a smile. I am proud of myself, how I fought.”

That explanation did not convince Patrick Mouratoglou. The former coach of Serena Williams and Holger Rune argued that Alcaraz was not being fully candid about his emotions after the defeat. “Carlos Alcaraz spent four and a half hours on court, lost 10-7 in the fifth-set tie-break, and walked off saying he was happy. I’m not buying it,” declared Mouratoglou in a LinkedIn post.

Mouratoglou said champions do not accept losing lightly and suggested that honesty after defeat can be difficult to judge. He pointed to Serena Williams, Pete Sampras, Novak and Sabalenka while making his wider case, but also stressed that the bigger issue for elite players is the long-term process. In his view, too much focus on winning in the moment can distort decision-making, even if the player is already at the top level.

He then turned back to Alcaraz, arguing that the Spaniard may have arrived in New York without full belief that he could win the title. Mouratoglou said Alcaraz was not physically ready, adding that the struggle against Shelton was visible. He concluded that a player of Alcaraz’s standard should still be thinking in terms of victory, even when not fully fit.

Alcaraz now moves on to the Laver Cup in London next week as he tries to finish a difficult 2026 on a stronger note.

Alexander Zverev’s 2026 season has taken a striking turn, and the German may now be positioned to chase one of the sport’s most valuable prizes in the months ahead.

After winning the US Open in New York with a commanding victory over Ben Shelton, Zverev added a second major trophy to his cabinet. That triumph followed his French Open title in June, which ended a long wait for Grand Slam success and changed the shape of his season completely.

For much of his career, Zverev was viewed as a player who came close without quite finishing the job. In 2026, that picture has shifted. His results have strengthened the case that he belongs in the game’s new elite, and he now has a genuine opening to finish the year as world No 1.

Jannik Sinner currently leads the rankings, but the coming weeks are likely to be decisive. Under the ATP’s 52-week system, Sinner must defend 3,500 points from the final stretch of 2025, including titles in Beijing, Vienna, the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals. One of those wins came against Zverev in the Vienna final last October.

Zverev, by contrast, has only 1,080 points to protect. That leaves him 1,810 points behind Sinner, but still with a realistic path to overtake him if the margin tightens.

Carlos Alcaraz is too far back to join the race after missing a significant portion of 2025 because of a wrist injury. That leaves Zverev with a clear opportunity to challenge for the top ranking for the first time in his career.

The year-end No 1 comes with a trophy to be handed over at the ATP Finals in Turin in November, a scenario that would add extra weight if Zverev were to claim it in front of Sinner’s home supporters.

Even so, Zverev was careful not to overstate his standing after the US Open. “You have to take everything into consideration,” said Zverev after his US Open win. “With Jannik Sinner being injured and Carlos Alcaraz coming back from injury after four months, right now, probably yes. Both of them healthy and both of them at the top of their game, maybe not.

“But if we say right, right now, with Jannik being injured and Carlos coming back from injury, maybe. I mean, four, five months ago when both of them were healthy, I wasn’t.

“I was losing to Jannik all the time. So if everyone is healthy, I think Jannik is still ahead. It’s as simple as that.”

Middle Eastern tournaments on next year’s calendar could be altered if security worries in the region continue, with contingency plans now being discussed ahead of the WTA and ATP Tour events in Dubai and Doha in February 2027.

The issue has resurfaced after the disruption earlier this year, when Daniil Medvedev and fellow finalist Tallon Griekspoor were among the players and ATP staff left stranded in Dubai shortly after the Russian won the Dubai 500 event in February. Missile strikes on the United Arab Emirates led to flights in and out of the country being suspended for days, while Iranian forces attacked American military assets in the area.

According to The I Paper, tennis authorities have already begun considering a possible ‘Plan B’ to prevent a repeat of those complications. Singapore and Australia have been mentioned as potential destinations for the WTA events, although no ‘formal approach’ has been made.

The report also states that ATP officials would prefer to move the tournaments to Europe, but there are no immediate ‘forthcoming options’ available.

A switch may prove more complicated for the women’s tour. Although the Dubai and Doha events are ATP 500s, the WTA tournaments are 1000-level events, which brings greater demands in terms of draw size, prize money, and resources.

For now, both Dubai and Doha’s international airports remain open, but there is little appetite for another disruption like the one that affected the players in March. Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Griekspoor were unable to continue on to Indian Wells for the first Masters 1000 event of the year after the UAE closed its airspace.

At the start of March, Medvedev spoke about being stuck in Dubai with his family and support team. He called it an “unusual” situation, with one hotel reportedly turned into a de facto ‘bunker’. He said at the time, “Of course, the situation is unusual. The airspace is closed, no one knows when we’ll be able to fly. It’s unclear how long this will last, so we’re just waiting to see what happens in the next few hours and days. The airport closure is being gradually postponed.

“As strange as it may sound, I’m very emotional on the court, but in life, it would probably help me to be more emotional at certain moments. For me, everything is fine.

“Naturally, I’ve received a lot of messages from friends and acquaintances; everyone is worried. But I can say for myself that everything is fine.”