'Everyone is tense. It's the last slam of the season. Your last chance to go deep at a slam for a while.'
Unseasonably mild conditions have done nothing to cool tempers inside the US Open this year, as frustrations boil over and nerves fray on courts across Flushing Meadows.
Spats at the net and tears on the bench have appeared more frequent in New York this year, where players reach the home stretch of a busy season grasping at their last chance to claim a major title in 2025.
"Lots of drama," said American fourth seed Jessica Pegula.
"Everyone is tense. It's the last slam of the season. Your last chance to go deep at a slam for a while.
"I think people maybe just get stressed out, and you're out there competing and fighting and trying to win. I think it just gets emotional."
Former champion Daniil Medvedev earned a $42,500 fine for his antics during a loss to Benjamin Bonzi at the start of the week, where he launched a tirade against the umpire and whipped up jeering fans.
Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko levelled a series of insults at Taylor Townsend during a post-match encounter after the American prevailed in their round two meeting on Wednesday.
"She told me I had no class, I have no education," said Townsend.
Ostapenko later apologised, stating that English is not her native language and that her anger stemmed from Townsend's refusal to apologise for benefiting from a net cord.
A day later, Stefanos Tsitsipas used the customary post-match handshake as an opportunity to lambaste his second-round opponent Daniel Altmaier for deploying an underarm serve.
"I don't know if it's just the part of the season where everyone is, like, tired and irritated or something," said twice former champion Naomi Osaka.
"For me, I think New York brings out my best behaviour, so I don't know what everyone else is doing."
For some players, trying to cope with the stress and exhaustion can bring emotions to the surface.
Coco Gauff, the 2023 champion, struggled to contain her nerves in a second-round encounter with Donna Vekic on Thursday, as she sat shaking and crying on her bench mid-match before winning 7-6(5), 6-2.
Asked to explain the amount of drama at the tournament this year, Gauff said that the Grand Slam brought a bigger spotlight to increasingly common issues in the sport.
"With some of the drama, I feel like it happens frequently on tour but because it's here it gets more social media clicks," said Gauff, who enjoyed a far more routine third-round win over Magdalena Frech on Saturday.
"For us players, it's just another week on tour."
