Onward \u2026<\/p>\n
U.S. Open Mixed Doubles\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 A lot of questions came in late about the U.S. Open mixed doubles announcement.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s a great event, and I\u2019m glad there is a sponsor again. It\u2019s great that conventional doubles players have ample opportunity to enter the event. There are many big names and a few notable absences (all subject to change). Because our allegiance and loyalty are to the audience\/fans, and not to agents, here\u2019s the unspoken: Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz are\/were supposed to play together. This would have been the headlining act in normal times. Alas, in either an abundance of caution or a bad omen, Alcaraz\u2019s wrist remains a question mark (especially after he withdrew from Cincinnati). If he commits, great. If not, one must believe that Serena\u2014who had already committed to being in New York City that week\u2014will not go unmatched.<\/p>\n Q&A<\/p>\n Questions for the Bag: What are the odds that we get eight different Slam winners this year? [Jannik] Sinner and [Alexander] Zverev will be heavy favorites on the men\u2019s side, but maybe [Taylor] Fritz or [Ben] Shelton? On the women\u2019s side, a different winner feels more likely (Sabalenka, [Coco] Gauff, [Jessica] Pegula). Along those lines, what are the odds that the women field eight different finalists at the Slams this year? That seems particularly attainable.<\/p>\n Jason R.<\/p>\n \u2022 Good one. Sinner, the clear No. 1, is the reigning champion of only one major, the Wimbledon title he won in July. Let\u2019s do the women first. Yes, we are still weeks out from the U.S. Open, but it\u2019s hard to pick against Sabalenka, who has won 20 of her past 21 matches in New York. (And that loss was a three-set final, to Gauff, in which she let a lead slip.) Sabalenka\u2019s past five U.S. Open results: semifinal, semifinal, final, winner, winner. If she three-peats, we\u2019ll have our fourth women\u2019s winner of 2026.<\/p>\n The men\u2019s side? This is where, to borrow from The Roots, things fall apart. Sinner, likely, will enter as the favorite to take a title he won in 2024. Zverev would be next. Alcaraz, the defending champion, would be third, wrist permitting. All three, of course, have already won in \u201926.<\/p>\n
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