Jannik Sinner has not competed since he lifted the Wimbledon trophy on 12 July. Now he has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open as well, a week after skipping the Canadian Open in Montreal, and the year’s final Grand Slam is 20 days away.
The 24-year-old Italian explained the decision in a statement released on 9 August.
“My right knee has been bothering me and even though we have been working hard with my medical team, I have to accept that I’m not ready to compete yet.”
“After consulting with my doctors and my team, I have to announce that I need to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati.”
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Zero hard-court reps before New York
The Cincinnati main draw runs from 13 to 23 August, and the US Open singles begins one week after the final. That leaves Sinner going into the last major of the season without a single competitive hard-court match in his legs, on a knee his team has been unable to sign off on.
Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Sinner is treating the Cincinnati absence as precautionary and plans to train in New York ahead of Flushing Meadows, as relayed by Al Jazeera.
Alcaraz absent with wrist trouble
Sinner is not the only marquee absentee. World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, the defending Cincinnati champion, has also pulled out of the tournament with a lingering wrist injury, meaning neither of the top two men will be in the draw when qualifying starts on 11 August. Neither played the Canadian Open the week before, either.
Seven weeks without a match
The last time Sinner struck a competitive ball was the Wimbledon final on 12 July, when he beat Alexander Zverev in four sets to claim a second consecutive title at the All England Club and his fifth Grand Slam. By the time the US Open begins on 30 August, that will be seven weeks between matches, on a surface he normally plays himself into through the North American swing.
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