Sabalenka's meltdown to Alcaraz's 'Nipplegate' -- Most controversial moments at US Open 2026
Two weeks of tennis almost always throw up unexpected storylines, and US Open 2026 delivered aplenty. Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan clinched her first title in New York and the World No. 1 ranking, beating Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Alexander Zverev of Germany outlasted USA’s Ben Shelton in four sets to claim his second major of the season and end American men’s hopes for a Grand Slam champion.
But not everything that made headlines out of Flushing Meadows happened on the scoreboard. Quite a few heated moments, on and off the court, captured much of the attention during the competition. Let’s take a look at some of the most controversial moments at this year’s US Open.
The Chan vs Hsieh old feud, and the Ostapenko interference
Catch Every Update, Anytime, Anywhere
Hsieh Su-wei and Chan Hao-ching have represented Chinese Taipei on the same tours for close to two decades, but they have rarely been friends. Their rivalry goes back to Hsieh’s long-held claim that the Chinese Taipei Tennis Association favoured Chan and her elder sister, Latisha, in terms of funding, coaching support, and team selection.
It boiled over at the 2016 Rio Olympics, when officials approved Chan’s father as her coach but denied a similar request from Hsieh, who then withdrew from the Games in protest. At the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei, Latisha Chan left Hsieh’s brother stranded before a mixed doubles match, only to fly out for the US Open and win the women’s doubles title days later.
That history followed both women to Flushing Meadows this year, where Hsieh, partnering Jelena Ostapenko, met Chan and her Australian partner Maya Joint in the pre-quarterfinals.
Mid-match, Ostapenko and Hsieh accused a member of Chan’s box of sarcastically applauding their unforced errors in Mandarin, a language Ostapenko does not speak, and demanded that a translator be brought to the court to explain the remarks to the umpire.
Ostapenko eventually won in straight sets and directly roared at Chan’s team in celebration. At the net, Chan shook Ostapenko’s hand but walked straight past Hsieh without a word, reviving a snub the two had exchanged before at last year’s China Open.
Related: Serena’s return to Rybakina’s first — Most memorable moments at US Open 2026
The Aryna Sabalenka meltdown after the US Open final
Sabalenka entered the final chasing a third straight US Open title and her first Major of the year, but Rybakina once again proved to be the better player on court. The top seed was seen talking to herself between points, rolling her eyes at her own mistakes and gesturing sharply at her box as the match slipped away.
The moment that spread furthest online came after the final point. Sabalenka sat on the sideline and smashed her racket against the court, and when a camera operator zoomed in, she was caught mouthing the F-word and waving the camera away.
Influencers take over the US Open crowd
In recent years, the US Open has courted a younger, more online audience, but this year that strategy backfired. With nearly a hundred content creators credentialed alongside traditional media, clips of influencers filming and reacting loudly during live points spread quickly on social media.
USA’s Coco Gauff said the flash of phone lights bothered her more than the noise, while Japan’s Naomi Osaka was blunter about the disruption during her early rounds.
“There was a moment where there was, like, people shouting and stuff, and you could hear it quite clearly,” she said, adding that she hoped for better management in future. Wimbledon quickly banned accreditation for content creators, ahead of the 2027 Championships.
Related: List of records Alexander Zverev broke at US Open 2026
The cannabis smell
Complaints about the smell of marijuana drifting over the courts at Flushing Meadows are nothing new, with players from Nick Kyrgios to Maria Sakkari to Zverev himself having raised the issue in past editions.
This year, it was Sabalenka’s turn, and her match against Kamilla Rakhimova at the Louis Armstrong Stadium was briefly held up when she walked to the chair to tell the umpire the smell was too strong to ignore.
“Someone is smoking weed,” she said. “Would you mind telling them to deal with it? It’s so strong.”
“You can do whatever, you can smoke whatever, you can relax as much as you can, but please do not do it around the tennis courts,” she said during her post-match press conference. New York’s cannabis laws, however, mean the tournament, which is held next to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, is unlikely to shake the issue any time soon.
Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘Nipplegate’ controversy
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain was always going to be the biggest talking point. However, an unexpected malfunction with his outfit grabbed headlines at the US Open after his loose-fitting brown Nike tank top repeatedly exposed his chest during his opening matches.
The outfit, part of his Nike x Travis Scott Cactus Jack collaboration, quickly sparked memes and jokes online, with former WTA player Eugenie Bouchard even telling him to “put the nip away.”
Alcaraz took the feedback seriously. For his third-round match against Wu Yibing of China, he wore a white undershirt beneath the tank top, saying: “I think I’ve been seeing too much of my nipples lately”.
How far did Aryna Sabalenka progress in the 2026 US Open?
Aryna Sabalenka lost to Elena Rybakina in the US Open 2026 singles finals.
Were the influencers banned in US Open 2026 after their interruption controversy?
No, influencers were not outright banned from the US Open, but organizers revoked specific credentials and added stricter warnings following crowd disruptions.
Who did Carlos Alcaraz lose to in the US Open 2026?
Carlos Alcaraz lost to Ben Shelton in the US Open 2026 quarter-finals, as the latter won 6–7 (5), 6–1, 6–3, 1–6, 7–6 (7).
For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram