Clara Tauson on Monday, for the third successive time, crashed out in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament when, after leading comfortably against the former US Open winner Sloane Stephens, she completely collapsed and lost to the American, who had otherwise entered the US Open with doubts about her physical shape.
After the match, Tauson expressed that 'she couldn't recognize herself on the court' and openly apologized for her level of play, stating to reporters, "I don’t feel great. I played a really, really bad match. I felt like I looked like an idiot out there." Expressing total helplessness during her mid-match collapse, she remarked, "I couldn't find any solutions to anything at all."
When she was asked to comment on the sudden shift in momentum after leading 4-2 in the opening set, she admitted that there were 'no excuses' for how quickly her confidence and game fell apart.
Tauson revealed in May she has been suffering from two herniated discs in her back, which heavily disrupted her 2026 season and form following a career-high ranking in 2025.
Tauson retired mid-match in her opening-round match in Adelaide in January against Ajla Tomljanović due to hamstring and physical discomfort right before the Australian Open. In March, she withdrew from the Miami Open during her second-round match against Katie Boulter after suffering acute back pain.
She skipped the Stuttgart Open entirely in April and pulled out of Madrid shortly before her scheduled singles match due to a secondary right shoulder injury following back rehabilitation. And in May, her struggles continued at the Italian Open when she retired from her match against Oleksandra Oliynykova due to lingering back pain.
According to Flashscore's tennis expert, Katerina Teruzzi, Tauson must now be fully focused on getting back to full fitness, as it is the key to turning around what has, in general, been a very disappointing season for the Dane.
"Playing through pain when you are not 100% makes no sense; it brings no results, no peace of mind, and ultimately only leads to a ranking drop and frustration. Look at (Carlos) Alcaraz—he stayed out for five months just to make sure he was fully prepared and to avoid long-term issues."
"Even minimal discomfort—in Clara's case, primarily physical, which inevitably spills over into psychology, decision-making on court, and movement—makes it incredibly hard to handle. Taking a proper break to get 100% healthy is completely fine, and once she does, she can definitely return close to the Top 10", says Teruzzi.
Teruzzi underlines that even though Tauson currently can't see a way out of the wilderness and is struggling to find her form on the court, she is not far from the player she used to be.
"One should remember that she has still managed to beat great players recently (like Ekaterina Alexandrova, Diana Schnaider and Sara Bejlek, who recently won a WTA tournament) and pushed Karolina Muchová (Wimbledon finalist), Barbora Krejcikova (Wimbledon Champion) to three sets. So the quality is definitely still there."
"When a player is at that level, the field is extremely competitive and tiny nuances make all the difference. By reaching the level where Tauson is, you have more demanding matches, higher mental pressure, and greater physical tolls. A player has to adapt continuously to stay at the top, so many factors have to align. She is still a relatively young player, and her recent results already show an improving trend."
Clara Tauson will take part in the doubles tournament at the US Open and afterwards is expected to head to Asia for the remainder of the season.
