Stability at the top: On the tennis and the U.S. Open

In recent times, men’s tennis has had a heavy dose of predictability while the women’s game has been in a state of perpetual flux. If Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner cornered 11 of the 13 Majors starting Wimbledon 2023, there were nine different winners among women in the same period. But at the recently concluded U.S. Open , this pattern flipped. Alexander Zverev won his second men’s singles Slam trophy and first at Flushing Meadows after finishing atop an airy field that lost Sinner before the tournament and Alcaraz in the quarterfinal. In the ladies category, Elena Rybakina secured her third Major — also her first in New York — after beating top seed and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, and No. 4 and 2023 U.S. Open winner Coco Gauff, back to back.