The US Open has already seen some big names exit the tournament even before the main draw gets underway.
There are multiple events going on in New York already, including the reimagined US Open mixed doubles event.
Mixed doubles has been added to Fan Week at the US Open, while qualifying has already been a part of it.
Two Grand Slam semifinalists have already lost in US Open qualifying, and now a former top 20 player has joined them.
Daria Saville wins just two games in her US Open qualifying match
That player is Daria Saville, who is a former top 20 player and has wins over Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Simona Halep.
However, she is no longer at that ranking and as the world number 157 had to play qualifying at the US Open.
This was the Australian’s first match since Wimbledon, where Saville was highly critical of how qualifying players were treated, but it did not go according to plan.
Playing against former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Jule Niemeier, Saville won just two games as she was beaten, 6-0 6-2.
Saville has not played a lot of tennis recently, with all three of her last tournaments coming at Grand Slams.
She now joins other players including Carson Branstine, who also lost in the first round of US Open qualifying.
What Daria Saville said she was struggling with after losing in Wimbledon qualifying
Saville’s lack of recent tournaments will not be a surprise to anyone who follows her social media accounts, as she has been very open about her recent mental health struggles.
After losing in the first round of Wimbledon qualifying, Saville posted a video to Instagram revealing that she was not enjoying playing tennis at the moment and explained how she had learnt that it was better for her to take time away rather than keep fighting against it.
“Tennis players are taking mental health breaks,” said Saville. “Honestly, so many players are struggling including myself, I’ve not been enjoying hitting tennis balls, I have not been enjoying the process, I have not been enjoying the grind, the travel.
“Some people would say that we are becoming soft, I don’t know. In previous years, I would just keep grinding, I would just keep feeling unhappy, but now I understand that to just keep grinding is the easiest thing to do and breaking the cycle of being unhappy is the hardest thing to do.”
Saville’s struggles are not completely results related, as the 31-year-old also admitted she was suffering with burnout after qualifying for the main draw of Roland Garros.
She wrote on Instagram, “This is supposed to be the part of the season I love most. I usually feel alive on the clay. But lately, I’ve felt anything but. Just tired. Burnt out. A little lost. So I’m choosing to go home – because the version of me that shows up for everyone else deserves to be taken care of too!”
This issue is not exclusive to Saville, as many other players have also chosen to take mental health breaks from tennis.
One of the most recent high-profile cases of this is three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur, who admitted she was not happy on court anymore.
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