It’s Time to Really Start Judging Maresca and New

In his eight years at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc has established himself as a popular and talented Monegasque prince of the Formula One grid, yet being crowned his sport's king remains just a dream.

The 28-year-old said in an interview in August that it "is still possible" for him to become world champion in 2027, although it will be "surely a difficult goal to achieve".

He has flashed his talent again this season, winning at Silverstone and stepping onto the podium after three other races.

Yet, ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, a race he has won twice, he sits fifth in the drivers' standings, 87 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli and also trailing team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Ferrari signed Leclerc, fresh from an impressive rookie F1 campaign with Sauber, ahead of the 2019 season.

He has since racked up nine victories, including one on home soil in Monaco and two at Monza and finished a distant second behind Max Verstappen in the 2022 world championship and third in 2024.

In June, Leclerc signed a contract extension with Ferrari until the end of 2028.

At the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort in August, he talked of his love for the team.

Leclerc -- a wealthy driver and a star of the press and social media who has released pop records -- presents himself as a mature and clear-headed leader of the Scuderia, despite the pressure this year from Hamilton, who, at 41, is aiming for an eighth world title.

"I've changed a lot, because through experiences -- good and bad -- you mature enormously as a driver and as a person," said the recently-married Leclerc, who is smiling but often reserved in front of the press, in contrast to his aggressive approach on the track.

"I grew up in Italy with karting and absorbed a lot of Italian passion and emotion. But over the years, I've managed to handle those emotions better when things are going very well or very badly," says Leclerc, who recently admitted to being affected by what he calls "negative stories" surrounding his inconsistent performances.

- Ferrari frustration -

Leclerc's inability to turn pace and potential into domination mirrors the frustrating recent history of the Scuderia.

Ferrari, historically the sport's most successful team, won their last constructors' title in 2008. The last driver crowned world champion in a red single-seater was Finn Kimi Raikkonen the year before.

"The passion within Ferrari is an incredible force, and when things aren't going as they should, we work tirelessly to turn the tide," said Leclerc.

"But it can hurt too. When things aren't going well, people feel it very deeply."

He says the arrival of Frenchman Fred Vasseur as team principal ahead of the 2023 season improved Ferrari's team culture.

"Fred has really brought that calm, that cool-headedness needed to make the environment less prone to emotional outbursts," said Leclerc.

This weekend, Leclerc said he expects to be swept up by the "immense enthusiasm" that grips the tifosi, the Monza circuit and nearby Milan the week before the Grand Prix.

"My love for Ferrari and for this sport is the same as it was on the very first day," said Leclerc.

Aryna Sabalenka came to the US Open struggling and in danger of losing the No. 1 ranking.

She heads to the third round looking every bit ready for a three-peat.

The top-seeded Sabalenka overwhelmed Polina Iatcenko 6-1, 6-1 in 53 minutes on Wednesday night, putting on a power-hitting display that made it seem her recent problems are in the past, The Associated Press said.

“Happy with the level I played today, happy with the focus and happy to be through this match,” Sabalenka said.

A number of players have only finished one match.

Another rainy afternoon in New York suspended play for a time on outside courts, allowing action only under the roofs in Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium to continue uninterrupted. So the players scheduled there avoided the starts and stops that others faced.

Carlos Alcaraz was one, following Sabalenka with a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Jaime Faria. The defending champion rebounded after dropping a set, which he didn't do until last year's final, by winning the next eight games to seize control.

Jessica Pegula needed only 56 minutes to defeat Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-1. Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, beat Venus Williams in her first match.

“To be out of there in under an hour, it doesn’t always happen,” Pegula said. “So I think I’m just going to take that one and run, I guess, until the next round.”

No. 8 seed Ben Shelton followed Pegula on Ashe and beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 7-5, while No. 7 Daniil Medvedev raced past Sebastian Gorzny — except for a brief delay to protest the chair umpire’s decision to replay a point when two birds sat on the net — 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.

Sabalenka says she was struggling but now feels better

Sabalenka is trying to become the first player to win three in a row in Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams from 2012-14, but arrived after losing in the fourth round of her past three tournaments. She needs help to stay atop the WTA rankings even if she wins the title.

She won 15 of 16 points on first serve in the first set and only dropped off a little in the second, finishing 21 for 28 in the match, against an opponent who is playing in her first Grand Slam tournament.

“I think I struggled a little bit in the middle of the season. Once again, I’m not going to defend myself or explain why, what happened, but I’m happy with my level,” Sabalenka said. “I can definitely say that mentally I’m way stronger than I was in the middle of the season, and physically I also feel stronger. So I feel like I’m on my level of play.”

A three-day first round stretches into a fourth

When the US Open switched to a Sunday start last year, it spread out the first round over the first three days, so Wednesday would have arrived with everyone playing in the second round had the weather cooperated.

It didn't.

Alex de Minaur, the No. 6 seed from Australia, said with all the juggling his match was moved twice from the court where he was originally scheduled. He finally started his US Open on Wednesday on Court 11 and beat Italy's Andrea Guerrieri 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.

“It’s been a couple tough days. But I mean, these tournaments, it's all about adapting and that’s the name of the game,” de Minaur said. “There’s too much to play for to let something like this affect you.”

Paula Badosa said she didn't even know how to prepare for the resumption of her match against Daria Kasatkina, which was halted Tuesday with her one game from winning to set up a second-round match against No. 4 Coco Gauff.

“I didn’t know if I was going to play just two points or six, or I don’t know how much, how many I play or one more set,” the Spaniard said Wednesday after finishing off her 6-1, 6-4 victory.

“So I knew that if I was winning this match, I’m playing the next day. So, yeah, it was everything a bit different. I was very nervous that I even couldn’t eat, so a lot of different stuff I did today, but sometimes it is how it is, and I tried to play with the things I had there.”

At least she got through. No. 12 Rafael Jodar, the 19-year-old from Spain who came in after a strong summer, was routed 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 by Bu Yunchaokete of China when his first-round match was finally completed.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy because I was waiting a lot yesterday and today as well, but it is what it is,” Jodar said. “We cannot control the rain, so it’s difficult for both players.”

The first round was finally completed late Wednesday, a day when 25 men’s singles matches were scheduled to get the tournament back on track.

Alex Michelsen pulled off an upset in one of them by ousting fellow American Brandon Nakashima, the No. 16 seed, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. No. 11 Frances Tiafoe beat Japanese qualifier Rei Sakamoto in straight sets, and Argentina's Mariano Navone backed up his upset of Novak Djokovic by beating Matteo Berrettini 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova and runner-up Karolina Muchova advanced to the third round, while No. 11 Marta Kostyuk got past 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-1, 7-5. No. 31 seed Leylah Fernandez set up a matchup of past US Open runners-up against Pegula, with the winner to meet either No. 16 Sorana Cirstea or No. 19 Jasmine Paolini.

World number three ‌Carlos Alcaraz said he plans to take more breaks from the tour and warned that the packed tennis calendar is contributing to injuries and fatigue among players.

The Spaniard, who returned to action at the US Open after a lengthy layoff due to a wrist injury sustained in April, said the demands of the schedule made it impossible for players to compete in every major event without risking burnout, Reuters said.

"I took more than ‌I wanted ‌but seeing how tight is the calendar, I ‌don't ⁠want to have ⁠this break because of an injury," Alcaraz told reporters after beating Jaime Faria 4-6 6-0 6-3 6-2 on Wednesday.

"In the future, I'm going to take some long breaks. Maybe not four months, but one month, two months, missing some tournaments, because it's impossible to ⁠play them all."

Since 2025, seven of the ‌nine ATP Masters 1000 ‌events have been expanded to 12 days, with only Monte Carlo ‌and Paris retaining their traditional one-week formats.

The ATP ‌has said players control their own schedules and it is working to encourage an appropriate number of matches during the season.

"They are adding more important tournaments. In a way ‌they are making us play," he said.

"You can say no and decide your calendar, ⁠but there ⁠are some Masters 1000s, some Grand Slams, and we are out playing 40 weeks if we have to play every mandatory tournament that the ATP requires us to play."

Alcaraz pointed to a growing injury toll on the tour, with Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper, Holger Rune and Joao Fonseca among players who missed this year's US Open.

"We are seeing a lot of players getting injured and tired. If they don't do anything about it, we are going to see even more in the future," he added.

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