Sinner withdraws from US Open with knee injury

Jannik Sinner, the world No. 1, has withdrawn from the US Open because of a right knee injury, ruling him out of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since his major debut in New York in 2019.

The 25-year-old Italian has not played a match since beating Alexander Zverev last month to win his second straight Wimbledon title. He later missed the Masters 1000 hard-court events in Canada and Cincinnati, key warm-up tournaments before the US Open.

Sinner said Friday that he would not be fit in time for the main draw at Flushing Meadows, which Al Jazeera reported begins on August 30.

“Even though I have been working hard with my team and my medical staff, we have now had to make the difficult decision that I will not be able to compete at the US Open this year,” Sinner posted on X. “We have been back on court in Monte Carlo over the last couple of days and have realised that I still need more time to recover from my right knee issue.

“I’m obviously very sad and disappointed, as New York has a special place in my heart. I was very much looking forward to coming back and playing in the electric atmosphere in front of the great fans there.”

His withdrawal removes one of the biggest names from the field and comes just a day after Carlos Alcaraz announced he would return in New York following four months out with a right wrist injury. Sinner and Alcaraz have become the central rivalry in men’s tennis, and they met in the US Open final last year, when Alcaraz beat Sinner in four sets, according to Al Jazeera. The Guardian also reported that Sinner lost to Alcaraz in the final in New York 12 months ago.

Al Jazeera described Sinner as the 2024 US Open champion and said his loss to Alcaraz ended his title reign after he had beaten Taylor Fritz in straight sets in the 2024 final.

Sinner’s absence adds to a growing list of withdrawals from the tournament. He is the sixth man to pull out of the singles draw since the entry list was announced, The Guardian reported. Six women have also withdrawn, including Britain’s Emma Raducanu.

The injury also extends a stop-start stretch for Sinner since Wimbledon. Al Jazeera reported that he is 44-3 this year with six titles and five Grand Slam championships overall. The outlet said he had a difficult French Open, losing after taking a two-set lead while struggling in the heat in a second-round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, before sitting out until Wimbledon.

Sinner had hoped to return on the hard courts before New York, but his latest on-court work in Monte Carlo convinced him and his team that more recovery time was needed. His withdrawal leaves the US Open without its top-ranked men’s player and shifts attention to Alcaraz’s comeback at Flushing Meadows.