Gauff’s Cincinnati redemption, Fernandez’s survival test, Sabalenka’s red carpet, Alcaraz’s golf therapy

As the Cincinnati Open gets underway, the biggest stars are gathering for the last Masters 1000 before the US Open. Carlos Alcaraz took some time to relax before his debut by playing golf with his brother Alvaro in the American city.

Aryna Sabalenka starred in a fun video, showing off her natural talent for walking the red carpet—though this time it was an improvised one. Meanwhile, Leylah Fernandez and Coco Gauff were seen in recordings from their training sessions ahead of the tournament.

Carlos Alcaraz appeared in photos playing golf with his brother Alvaro Alcaraz, who is accompanying the world No. 2 this week at the Cincinnati Open. The 22-year-old player spent the days before returning to competition playing golf with his older brother, this time in the city of Cincinnati prior to his tournament debut. The five-time Grand Slam champion is waiting to find out his opponent for his debut, which will be the winner between Mattia Belluci and Damir Dzumhur.

This will be Alcaraz's only tournament as preparation for the US Open and his first tournament since falling in the Wimbledon final to Jannik Sinner, who is also part of the draw. The last three times that Alcaraz and Sinner coincided in a main draw, they ended up facing each other in the final.

Aryna Sabalenka starred in a fun video walking glamorously down an improvised red carpet in Cincinnati. The world No. 1 was the star of a video by influencer Andrejko Epta, who has a famous trend where he places an impromptu red carpet in front of people in different cities around the world, inviting them to have their chance to participate in an improvised glamorous walk.

The three-time Grand Slam champion appeared in the recent video when the influencer suddenly appeared, stretching the carpet in front of Sabalenka, who was walking through the Cincinnati Open facilities. The Belarusian did not hesitate for a second and showed her charisma by posing for the cameras. Check out the fun moment from the Belarusian who stole attention on social media.

Leylah Fernandez shared photos of her arrival in Cincinnati as she prepares for her return to the courts after a disappointing first-round exit at the Canadian Open. The 2021 US Open champion had a notable week at the DC Open, winning her first WTA 500 title, but then could not maintain the level—and perhaps the fatigue played a trick on her—and ended up falling in the first round in Montreal.

The 22-year-old player arrived in Cincinnati to get back on track after a couple of weeks off from competition. The world No. 24 will have a new opportunity to show her best level and awaits her debut this Saturday against one of the stars of the moment: the Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who comes from reaching the quarterfinals in Canada and defeated Venus Williams in the first round. Without a doubt, it is a more than complicated debut for Fernandez against one of the players in the best form.

Also showing her preparations for Cincinnati on social media was world No. 2 Coco Gauff, who starred in a training session with high public expectation, where she had her first rallies before debuting in the tournament. There is high expectation for the American, who returns to the tournament she won in 2023, although this time with more doubts in her game, after a streak of matches with a large number of double faults and a round-of-16 exit from the Canadian Open against Victoria Mboko.

The two-time Grand Slam champion totaled 42 double faults in just three matches in Montreal, though she had better luck in doubles, where she ended up winning the title alongside McCartney Kessler. This time, Gauff will debut against the winner between Xinyu Wang and Emiliana Arango.

The American also left a reflection on social media after winning her 10th doubles title, though her first with Kessler. "fun two weeks here in Montreal, glad I got to leave here with another one for the cabinet #10dubs 🩷 thank you McCartney playing with me and for being so clutch haha & thank you guys for the support #CoKart 🏎️”