{"id":805072,"date":"2026-07-17T00:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T00:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/805072\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T00:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T00:55:14","slug":"5-unanswered-questions-in-tennis-entering-hard-court-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/805072\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Unanswered Questions in Tennis Entering Hard Court Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Much to our chagrin, grass court season is over. While many of the top players have jetted off to various tropical locations for vacations and weddings, the rest of the sport has already begun the hard court season. Such is the life of a professional tennis player.<\/p>\n

But with three Grand Slams in the rear view mirror and nothing but hard courts ahead of us, there are still five unanswered questions that we want to know the answer to.<\/p>\n

What is Carlos Alcaraz’s health status?\"Carlos<\/p>\n

Carlos Alcaraz has not played since April. | IMAGO \/ Alberto Gardin<\/p>\n

There have been plenty of amazing storylines throughout the spring and summer, but the most pressing matter is Carlos Alcaraz’s health. The seven-time Grand Slam champion has not played since April due to a right wrist injury, and fans have followed every step of his long recovery. <\/p>\n

Alcaraz missed two Majors and fell to ATP World No. 3. He has targeted the North American hard court swing as his return date all along, and is listed as an entry into the Cincinnati Open, but we are still yet to see him in live action.<\/p>\n

Has Coco Gauff figured out her serve yet?\"Coco<\/p>\n

Coco Gauff almost hit a ball kid with her serve at Wimbledon. | IMAGO \/ Sports Press Photo<\/p>\n

Coco Gauff was disappointed with her performance at Roland-Garros<\/a>. Not only did she fail to defend her title, but she was upset about not playing aggressively or as confidently as she could have. That would not be the case on grass. She was able to go big on her serve (evident by a close call with a ball kid<\/a>), and it was a missed drop shot <\/a>that cost her a spot in the final. <\/p>\n

While Gauff’s serve was better at Wimbledon, that could have been the conditions. Next month marks a year since she brought on Gavin MacMillan as her biomechanics coach, and that would be a large sample size<\/a> to see if progress has been made.<\/p>\n

Can Aryna Sabalenka hang on as WTA World No. 1?\"Aryna<\/p>\n

Aryna Sabalenka has not won a Major this year. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Aryna Sabalenka has been the WTA World No. 1 all season and has won three titles, but no Grand Slams. Moreover, Elena Rybakina seemed to have her number and was walking her down in the WTA Rankings before poor clay and grass campaigns. <\/p>\n

Rybakina will improve on the hard court, but will Sabalenka find her dominant ways once again? Last year was not all that different, with her winning the U.S. Open at the end of the North American hard court season.<\/p>\n

Will Iga Swiatek keep her team intact?\"Iga<\/p>\n

Iga Swiatek failed to defend her title at Wimbledon. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

So, it has been two seasons since Iga Swiatek has played well on clay. Unsurprisingly, she came back down to earth this year on grass and was unable to defend her title. In March, Swiatek parted ways with Wim Fissette<\/a> and hired Francisco Roig (who had just been fired by Emma Raducanu). As World No. 8<\/a>, can Swiatek afford to keep her current team intact?<\/p>\n

Who is the best American men’s tennis player?\"Ben<\/p>\n

Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz battled throughout the grass court season. | IMAGO \/ Eibner<\/p>\n

We are unlikely to get an answer on this question, but the grass court season has only made the issue less clear. Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton traded blows on grass, but neither has performed well in Majors this year. If Learner Tien keeps up his ascension, he could be in the messy conversation of who is the best men’s American tennis player.<\/p>\n

Stay locked into Sports Illustrated’s\u00a0Serve On SI\u00a0for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.<\/p>\n

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