Less delusions of grandeur, more Alcaranu clips for the content age

The US Open has revamped its mixed doubles to better feed the content machine’s ceaseless desires, held the Tuesday and Wednesday before the tournament proper (Sky Sports Tennis, 4pm). In this Very Serious Sporting Event, sets will be only four games and they will not play advantage after deuce, while if matches go to a third set, this will be decided by a 10-point tiebreak, which could be dramatic if it weren’t so meaningless.

Reigning champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori called it a “profound injustice” to established doubles players, so they have been given a wildcard and told if they think it’s such a joke, they should just go and win it again. And anyway, prize money has quintupled in a year, so they could now win $1m from just three matches. There’s a serious conversation here about who sport is for in the content age and elite sport mirroring society in its ever narrower concentration of wealth at the top, but that’s not what this guide is for. We want more Alcaranu content, and we want it now. Give us as many clips of stolen glances and post-point hugs as the social media intern can pull together.

Plenty of others aren’t burdened by delusions of the event’s grandeur. Jannik Sinner and Emma Navarro had not met before they were paired, while 6ft 8in Reilly Opelka and 45-year-old Venus Williams make an unconventional duo at best.

Those hoping for similar glamour and drama this side of the pond will be thrilled to know there’s a full slate of midweek League One and Two fixtures, with Bolton v Reading on Wednesday (Sky Sports Football, 7pm) probably the pick. Week two of the Premier League then begins on Friday with Chelsea at West Ham (Sky Sports Premier League, 8pm). Chelsea’s record at the London Stadium is poor – only two wins in their past six in football’s favourite soulless bowl – but then again West Ham won only one of their final six home matches last season. Movable objects and stoppable forces, etc.

All of England’s Women’s Rugby World Cup matches will be broadcast on the BBC, starting in Sunderland on Friday (BBC One, 7.30pm), before Scotland and Wales begin their campaigns against each other on Saturday in Salford (BBC One, 2.45pm). Elsewhere, the Vuelta a España begins on TNT Sports on Saturday. Tour de France victor Tadej Pogačar is sitting this one out having recently said: “I’m already counting the years until retirement.”

Photograph by Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/Getty Images