The last Grand Slam of the ATP and WTA tour took place over the last fortnight in the Flushing Meadows and definitely exposed woes and potential of the top players. The 2021 US open Champion Emma Raducanu went another year without progressing to a reputable position in comparison to her 2021 success. Losing in the opening round to the world no 56, Sofia Kenin, Raducanu cited a lack of practice in the lead up to the tournament explaining her disappointing efforts. Raducanu had not played any tournaments coming into the final slam of the year and later regretfully vowed to make better choices in preparation for future tournaments. Overall, a disappointing but not totally surprising loss. 

The world no 3 Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock straight sets loss in the second round to world no 74, Botic van de Zandschulp. His earliest loss in a Grand Slam since Wimbledon 2021. In the lead up to the open, Alcaraz was hesitant to play in Cincinnati and eventually lost in the opening round, citing fatigue. Considering the epic summer Alcaraz had after winning the Wimbledon Championship in July and achieving silver at the Olympic Games, I expected him to advance further than the second round. 

The underdog of the tournament, Britain’s Jack Draper, who managed to advance to the semifinal, his career best result at a slam. Aged just 22, Draper was yet to drop a set until his semifinal match against world No.1 Jannik Sinner. Ranked 25, Draper came into his match with Sinner expecting a challenge. Draper struggled with the intensity and physicality of the game and lost in straight sets, citing anxiety and fitness as the main reasons for his loss, which he is still ‘working on’. Nevertheless, Draper will leave the US open with a career high of world No.20 and looks set to perform well following the off season in Melbourne early next year. 

In final, Jannik Sinner went on to lift the trophy at the US open, but it didn’t come without an overbearing cloud following his anti-doping scandal earlier this year. Sinner had failed 2 doping tests in March after officials found traces of clostebol in Sinner’s system, a substance used to enhance muscle growth. Sinner responded to the case by claiming he had been unintentionally contaminated by his physio after receiving treatment. The International Tennis Integrity Agency responded to this case almost immediately and was resolved within 3 months, with Sinner eventually avoiding any ban from the sport. Players including Britain’s Dan Evans and Liam Broady as well as Nyck Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov have blasted the ITIA for their controversially quick and efficient response to this case compared to other players such as Simona Halep who have waited up to years for their cases to be concluded. Sinner’s victory at the Flushing Meadows, although unstoppable in his ability, has bought a sense of bittersweetness to the outcome of the tournament following his exceptionally swiftly deduced anti-doping case. The ITIA concluded that the violation was non-intentional on Sinner’s part. Many of the players on tour have not been happy with this outcome. 

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