Jannik Sinner: World No 1 withdraws from US Open with knee injury and misses out on final Grand Slam of the season

World No 1 Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from this month's US Open due to a right knee injury.

Sinner has been out of action since winning Wimbledon last month, his fifth Grand Slam title, where he beat Alexander Zverev in the final to successfully defend his title at the All England Club.

He missed the Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati, pulling out of the latter with a right knee injury to focus on being ready to play at Flushing Meadows, but has confirmed he will be unable to feature in New York.

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In a statement on social media, 2024 champion Sinner said: "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.

"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."

A 'shock' losing Sinner with Alcaraz to make comeback

Sinner's withdrawal comes a day after his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, who the Italian lost to in the final 12 months ago, revealed he will make his comeback from four months out with a wrist injury.

Spain's Carlos Taberner moves into the men's singles draw after Sinner's withdrawal, with Alcaraz now the highest-ranked player in action despite his recent injury troubles.

Alcaraz will be chasing his third US Open title, live on Sky Sports from August 30, having won his first Grand Slam title there in 2022 to reach world No 1 before lifting the trophy for a second time last September.

Speaking to Gigi Salmon on Sky Sports, former British No 1 Annabel Croft said: "It's quite a shock to be honest. We knew he hadn't played the last couple of events and he was resting but that whole idea was to get ready for the US Open.

"It's a big blow to tennis because it feels like a long time ago that we had Alcaraz and Sinner in the events together and it feels like a great loss."

Croft continued: "It also underlines how relentless and demanding the tour is physically. When you think at the beginning of the year when he won those five back-to-back Masters 1000 titles which was absolutely exceptional and a phenomenal achievement, but when he got to Roland-Garros there was not much left in the tank and it cost him perhaps the French Open title..

"Then we saw him rebound at Wimbledon which he built with each match but once again his body has let himself down. For all of these players it's such a difficult balance. You keep trying to play the tour, play the mandatory events but you also want to peak at the Grand Slams and it's not quite happening at the moment."

Former world No 40 Ryan Harrison added: "Sinner feels the risk of playing the US Open is a little bit too much."

Is the Tour being carried by Alcaraz and Sinner?

Croft said: "It's a long time since we had them in the same draw [since Monte Carlo]. They have become the new rivalry that everyone wants to see. I really don't mind watching the same players compete all the time because those are the matches you really look forward to.

"It's like watching a big boxing fight. You want to see the very best go up against each other, but now it's an opportunity for the next category down to shine. It's interesting because it's a bit of a transitional period at the moment.

"Who knows what will happen when we get them all back together."

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