play Live Sign upShow navigation menuplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upNews|TennisJannik Sinner to miss US Open tennis major due to knee injuryFive-time major champion Sinner, who won the US Open in 2024, will not be competing at Flushing Meadows this year.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoJannik Sinner will not compete at the final major of 2026 [File: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images]By The Associated PressPublished On 21 Aug 202621 Aug 2026Top-ranked Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the US Open, unable to recover from a right knee injury that has sidelined him since winning the Wimbledon title.
Sinner beat Alexander Zverev last month for his second straight title at the All England Club, but then pulled out of the hard-court tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati that serve as a warm-up for the US Open.
The 25-year-old Italian told social media on Friday that he won’t be ready when the main draw 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.”
Sinner was the 2024 US Open champion and lost to Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s final.
Alcaraz posted on social media on Thursday that he would be ready to play in New York after being out of action since April because of a right wrist injury.
The rivalry between them has dominated men’s tennis in recent years and they met in the last three Grand Slam finals last year. Alcaraz won the most recent with his four-set victory in New York.
That ended Sinner’s title reign after beating Taylor Fritz in straight sets in the 2024 final.
Sinner is 44-3 with six titles this year. He had a stunning collapse at the French Open, blowing a two-set lead while struggling in the heat in his second-round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo. He then sat out until Wimbledon, where his victory gave him five Grand Slam titles.
It will be the first time Sinner has missed a Grand Slam tournament since making his major debut at the US Open in 2019.
