Patrick Mouratoglou has questioned whether Carlos Alcaraz will have enough time to prepare for the 2026 US Open, saying the Spaniard is likely to be “way too short” on preparation.

Alcaraz has been back on court as he works toward a return to competition after being sidelined since April with a right wrist injury. The seven-time Grand Slam champion withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters and has not yet confirmed when he will play again.

He remains entered for the US Open, which begins in less than two weeks, although his participation in New York is still uncertain as he considers whether to defend his title.

In a video posted on his Instagram account, Mouratoglou struck a balanced tone, saying there are “good reasons to be optimistic” while still raising concerns about the timing of Alcaraz’s comeback.

“I understand people were surprised when Carlos withdrew from Cincinnati because they think, ‘Oh, he can hit the ball, he should be able to compete.’ It’s not that simple,” said the Frenchman.

“There are good reasons to be optimistic. It’s great to see Carlos practising, hitting the ball, being intense and everything. It looks like a normal preparation.

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“The thing is, this happened just a few days ago, and a Grand Slam is around the corner, and did he start early enough?

“You know, he’s probably super tired, super sore. He should be able to do that for two, three weeks in a row to be ready for a Grand Slam.

“The preparation is going to be way too short. When you’re out for such a long time, hitting the ball that hard every single day, to come back to it, it’s painful.

“You need time for the body to get used to it and even more in competition.

“We’ve seen a lot of footage of him hitting from the baseline. We don’t see him serve fully.

“When you serve full power, this is where the wrist works the most and this is probably the most traumatic.

“So, in general, you wait before starting to serve fully.”

Aryna Sabalenka began her Cincinnati Open run with a composed victory over Talia Gibson, winning 6-2, 7-6 to move past the disappointment of her early exit in Canada. In that tournament, Ekaterina Alexandrova ended her stay in the fourth round, but Sabalenka responded with a cleaner result here.

The world No 1 is also playing under the added weight of the rankings race. With only 529 points separating her from Elena Rybakina on the WTA Tour, Sabalenka is trying to protect the top position she has held for the past two seasons. This has not been one of her strongest years on tour, especially through the clay and grass swings, and she has not lifted a title since the Miami Open in March.

Sabalenka has also spoken this season about how she has handled those difficulties. In an interview with The Tennis Channel, she discussed the way she works with Anton Dubrov, Jason Stacy and Max Mirnyi. “If I see my team start criticizing me too harshly, I think we’d end up in a big fight, and it wouldn’t be a good fight. Every player receives information differently,” she said about communication with coaches Anton Dubrov, Jason Stacy and Max Mirnyi.

She added: “Early in my career, I was heavily criticized and grew up in that environment, but today we like to talk about what’s happening, put it into perspective, and make adjustments.

“In tough times, we get closer, have fun, have barbecues, and try to relax a bit because there’s a lot of pressure. I feel like my recipe for overcoming these big challenges is through conversation and having fun.”

Next up for Sabalenka is Wang Xinyu in the third round, their second meeting on the WTA Tour and first since 2022. Sabalenka won their previous match at the 2022 Australian Open after dropping the opening set. She leads Wang by 40 places in the rankings, with Wang currently No 41.

The section around Sabalenka has already opened up, with Barbora Krejčíková and Donna Vekic out. The winner of Sabalenka and Wang will face either Sara Bejlek or Alexandrova. Looking further ahead, Elina Svitolina appears the likeliest quarter-final opponent, Coco Gauff the most likely semi-final hurdle, and Rybakina could yet meet Sabalenka in the final. That would make the race for world No 1 even more significant.

A high-profile former coach of Serena and Venus Williams believes Alex Eala’s meeting with Amanda Anisimova at the 2026 Cincinnati Open will be a major test of her progress.

Seeded 17th in Cincinnati, Eala is set to face ninth seed Anisimova in a third-round match that many had anticipated when the draw was released. It will be the first time the two meet, with Anisimova arriving as the world No 10 and a 24-year-old American who finished runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2025.

Eala’s recent results give the contest extra weight. The 21-year-old Filipino has compiled a remarkable 9-4 career record against top-10 opponents, and seven of those wins have come this year. She has also won 11 of her last 13 matches, a stretch that has taken in Wimbledon, Washington DC, Toronto, and her opening match in Cincinnati.

Rick Macci, who has coached five players who went on to become world No 1, offered his view of the matchup in a post on X/Twitter. “EALA versus ANISIMOVA will give everybody a snapshot in real time of the Philippine machine and her movement and defense,” the American wrote.

He also explained why he views the meeting as a useful benchmark for Eala. “For her (Eala) to climb that mountain top the power players with clean lethal early strikes like her (Anisimova) is a great learning test for sure.

“When Alex is set on balance and able to hit on the rise this [is] when she gets you on a string and usually gets the prize.”

Macci later turned to Eala’s second serve, suggesting it could become even more effective if she adds pace. “Ask any WTA player if they would rather return a slow 70 mph second serve lefty lollipop or an 85 mph lefty laser from the Philippine machine gun and it is a slam dunk answer,” Macci wrote.

“Tennis is a game of time. Speed kills. Once Alex rewires everything in sync from the ground up look for her second serve to have juice bite and hop and other players wish they still tasted the LEFTY LOLLIPOP.”