With the Olympics over and done with and both the ATP and WTA restored to their former strength, attention can now turn to the official tennis calendar, and the upcoming US Open.
After all, it marks the final Grand Slam event of the year, and thus the last chance that these players will get to push for glory and earn a huge swell of ranking points.
However, for those with grand ambitions of winning the title, they will have some new rules to contend with.
A whole host of statutes have been published for the players to comb over ahead of their trip to New York, which could tip the balance if utilised correctly.
The new tennis rule that the US Open is implementing
The new rules concern the use of the video review, and what constitutes a debatable call.
After all, whilst the players can dispute plenty of grievances, there are a few that are non-negotiable, such as time violations, foot faults and line calls made by the electric line caller.
Those that are challengeable are not up (double bounce), a foul shot, touch, through, hindrance and the ball hitting a permanent fixture.
It is also worth noting that video review technology will be available at the US Open for all main draw matches on Arthur Ashe, Armstrong, Grandstand, Stadium 17 and Courts five, seven, 11 and 12.
This comes after new tennis rules were trialled at Halle and Queen’s back in June, and one player set to benefit from this is an American, after Coco Gauff argued with a chair umpire again at the Olympics for the third time this year.
Who are the favourites to win the US Open this year?
For both the men and the women, it is really hard to pick an outstanding favourite for the upcoming US Open, especially with the Cincinnati Masters to come.
That tournament will offer a clearer indication of who is truly in the best form going into the final Grand Slam of the calendar year.
However, ahead of that, it’s hard not to look past Carlos Alcaraz as the men’s favourite, especially following the summer he has just enjoyed winning Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and reaching the final of the Olympics.
Naturally, he will be challenged by Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, but the Spaniard will crave revenge over the former, and the latter continues to suffer from physical issues.
Jannik Sinner even provided a fitness update after his shock exit from the Canadian Open.
Meanwhile, on the women’s side, the pool for who could win feels far more open.
After all, none of the elite-level players are hardly establishing a monopoly over the big events, with Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka all prone to early surprise exits at the moment.
Therefore, perhaps someone like Emma Navarro or even Naomi Osaka will fancy their chances of a surprise triumph in New York, even if Swiatek is a previous winner of the event.
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