Davis Cup, Laver Cup, battle for world No. 1, China return – What’s next in tennis season after US Open?

The Grand Slam season is over.

The Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open are all behind us in 2023.

The latest Slam in New York ended with Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff crowned champions, as they beat Daniil Medvedev and Aryna Sabalenka respectively in the finals.

But what comes next after New York?

The tennis season is far from over, with plenty more to look forward to in the months ahead.

Novak Djokovic’s return to world No. 1 was confirmed when he made the second round at the US Open.

The result means this year’s see-saw battle for No. 1 has tilted again in Djokovic’s favour, but will it lean back to Carlos Alcaraz before the end of the season?

Djokovic currently has a healthy 3,260-point lead over Alcaraz, but has plenty of points to defend over the next two months. Tel Aviv is first (250 points), then Astana (500), then Paris (600), then the Nitto ATP Finals (1500).

Alcaraz didn’t play much towards the back end of 2022, including not making the ATP Finals, so only has 360 points to defend. He finished as year-end No. 1 last season.

Both Djokovic and Alcaraz could gain points as the ATP Tour returns to China this month and the Shanghai Masters is back on the calendar.

The women’s world No. 1 spot could also change before the end of the season.

Swiatek has 610 points to defend across Ostrava and San Diego, and made the semis at the WTA Finals last year. Sabalenka has little to defend before the WTA Finals, where she was runner-up in 2022 after beating Swiatek in the semis.

Swiatek is currently entered into the WTA 1000 Guadalajara Open, which starts on September 17, but Sabalenka is not on the entry list.

Swiatek didn’t play the tournament last year while Sabalenka lost in the second round.

After missing out on the fifth instalment of Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open, it looked like it would happen at the Davis Cup this week.

“I need to stop and rest, physically and mentally,” he added after his semi-final defeat to Medvedev in New York.

Djokovic’s Serbia are in Group C alongside Spain, Czech Republic and South Korea.

The group will be contested in Valencia, with Serbia opening against South Korea on September 12 and Spain starting against Czech Republic on September 13.

Serbia and Spain meet on September 15.

The top two teams from each group qualify for the quarter-finals in Malaga in November.

After the Davis Cup it’s soon onto the Laver Cup in Vancouver.

The Laver Cup returns this September with a new cast as Team Europe and Team World battle it out for the sixth time.

Team World were victorious for the first time in 2022 and will be eager to keep their hands on the trophy.

US Open semi-finalist Ben Shelton is on the team along with fellow Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. On Team Europe will be Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune, who will be making his debut.

The ATP Tour will return to China this autumn for the first time in four years.

Tournaments in the country were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but there are four on the calendar this season, starting with the Chengdu Open and Zhuhai Championships in the week of September 20.

The ATP 500 China Open starts on September 28 and is followed by the Shanghai Masters, which starts on October 4.

The last time the China Open was held in 2019, it was Dominic Thiem who was crowned champion. Medvedev won the last edition of the Shanghai Masters four years ago, beating Alexander Zverev in the final.

The WTA will also be back in China.

The women’s tour suspended events in the country in 2021 due to concerns over the safety and whereabouts of Chinese player Peng Shuai.

There are also two WTA 250 events in China in September and the WTA 500 Zhengzhou Open in early October.

The race to qualify for the season-ending finals on the ATP and WTA tours now hots up.

The likes of Djokovic, Alcaraz, Medvedev, Sabalenka, Swiatek, and Coco Gauff have already secured their spots, but there are always one or two places that go down to the wire.

The top eight players, based on a calendar-year points race, qualify for the finals.

The ATP Finals will again be played in Turin, while the WTA Finals will be played in Cancun.