"This year in New York it is the U.S. WIDE OPEN" - Rick Macci assesses Cincinnati damage as title favourite wobbles

Another tournament comes and goes with Aryna Sabalenka once again making the headlines for the wrong reasons. Her tennis has come under question following her latest collapse in a devastating 7-6(7), 6-4 loss to 20-year-old Sara Bejlek at the Cincinnati Open, which has got legendary coach Rick Macci to question her mentality while affirming her quality on court ahead of the 'wide open' US Open.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has not released her incredible powers on court in recent times. After the Sunshine double, there was an eeriness that she could go on and dominate the WTA Tour with the ominous sense that her consistent form would continue on the big stage.

The complete opposite has happen. On the ATP Tour, Jannik Sinner won both Indian Wells and Miami Open before continuing to produce a clean sweep of the Masters 1000 titles on clay. That was the vision many had for Sabalenka, but surprising defeat after surprising defeat followed and is still continuing.

After a torrid clay and grass swing, the expectation was that she would find her best form on court as she made the switch back to her favourite hardcourt surface. Last-16 defeats at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open say otherwise.

The latest came against Bejlek, where her simmering frustrations were there on full show. After losing the first set tiebreak, she rallied by sailing into a 4-1 lead. She would not win another game from that point onwards. Bejlek, to her credit, produced the biggest win of her career after ticking off five consecutive games against the World No.1 to reach a first WTA 1000 quarter-final. On the other side of the court, a collapse that is becoming all too familiar continues to send shockwaves through tennis.

Regularly posting his thoughts of the current tennis events on X, Macci focused his attention on Sabalenka. While complimenting her, the American noted her mindset shifting when under pressure.

"Sabalenka is on a slippery slope as the Belarus Bomber still has an unreal serve but in tough moments I see a different mindset with her nerve," he wrote. "Her confidence is in and out up and down but she still has the explosive firepower off the ground."

The former coach of the Williams sisters still backed her to do something special at the US Open. "She can flip the script big time at the final Slam as she is proven mentally to be a tiger not a lamb."

However, he still admitted that her current faults have made this year's WTA event at Flushing Meadows anyone's to take. "Right now Sabalenka is competing against herself. When an athlete does this you can still get a few wins but mentally your confidence spins. This year in New York it is the U.S. WIDE OPEN for the WTA as 15 different players could have the final say."

Sabalenka has not lost a match at the US Open since the 2023 final against Coco Gauff. A two-time champion, she has reached the semi-final stage in every event since 2021. This makes it one of her favourite tournaments, but the narrative could quickly be flipped if she is unable to find her best form at the right time.

The tournament takes place from August 30 - September 13, leaving Sabalenka with some time to gather her thoughts and reset ahead of a hugely critical tournament at Flushing Meadows.