At the height of his powers, Jannik Sinner finds himself watching from the sidelines as the tournament he defended just a year ago begins without him. A right knee injury, stubborn in its refusal to yield to rest and rehabilitation, has forced the world's top-ranked player to withdraw from the 2026 US Open — his first Grand Slam absence in seven years. It is a reminder that sport, for all its celebration of human will, ultimately answers to the body's own calendar.
Sinner withdraws from US Open with knee injury, ending Grand Slam streak
The knee is still not right, even after weeks of rest
Mark
Why does this injury matter so much? Players miss tournaments all the time.
Mimi
Because Sinner hasn't missed a Grand Slam since 2019. That's seven years of consecutive appearances at the sport's biggest events. It's a streak that says something about his durability and his commitment. Breaking it signals real physical distress.
Mark
But he just won Wimbledon. Shouldn't that have given him time to recover?
Mimi
You'd think so. But Wimbledon is in late July, and the US Open starts in early September. That's only about five weeks. He tried to use that time, even skipped the warm-up tournaments to rest. It wasn't enough. The knee is still not right.
Mark
What about Alcaraz? He's been out since April and he's playing.
Mimi
Different injuries, different timelines. Alcaraz had months to recover. Sinner's injury is fresh, and it happened at the worst possible moment—right when he needed to maintain momentum into his home stretch of the season.
Mark
Does this change the rivalry?
Mimi
It pauses it. They were supposed to meet again in New York. Instead, Alcaraz will be there and Sinner won't. That's a significant advantage for Alcaraz, and it's also a loss for the tournament itself. Their rivalry has been the best story in men's tennis.
Mark
What happens to Sinner now?
Mimi
He waits. He rehabilitates. The uncertainty is the hardest part—he doesn't know when he'll be ready to compete at his highest level again. That's the real cost of this injury.
Le Pouls
- Sinner's knee, strained in the aftermath of his second consecutive Wimbledon title, has not responded to weeks of rest or intensive treatment — even a return to the court in Monte Carlo failed to clear him for competition.
- The withdrawal is jarring: the defending US Open champion, carrying a 44-3 record this season, will be absent from a draw that begins August 30 in New York.
- His rival Carlos Alcaraz, returning from his own injury layoff, has confirmed he will compete — sharpening the sense that the rivalry's next chapter will be written without Sinner present to answer.
- The men's singles field is reshaped by the absence, and Sinner's return timeline remains uncertain, leaving the second half of his season suspended between recovery and reclamation.
At the height of his powers, Jannik Sinner finds himself watching from the sidelines as the tournament he defended just a year ago begins without him. A right knee injury, stubborn in its refusal to yield to rest and rehabilitation, has forced the world's top-ranked player to withdraw from the 2026 US Open — his first Grand Slam absence in seven years. It is a reminder that sport, for all its celebration of human will, ultimately answers to the body's own calendar.
Jannik Sinner announced on Friday that he will not compete at the 2026 US Open, citing a right knee injury that has persisted since his Wimbledon victory over Alexander Zverev in late July. It is his first Grand Slam withdrawal since he entered professional tennis at that same tournament in 2019.
The decision did not come easily. Sinner and his medical team had hoped that skipping the hard-court warm-up events in Montreal and Cincinnati would be sufficient recovery. When that proved untrue, they traveled to Monte Carlo to test his readiness on court. The conclusion was the same: more time was needed. In his public statement, Sinner was candid about the disappointment, noting the special place New York holds for him.
The absence carries weight beyond one player's health. Sinner's rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz has been the defining story of men's tennis — the two met in three consecutive Grand Slam finals in 2025, with Alcaraz claiming the most recent US Open title in four sets. Now Alcaraz, recovering from a wrist injury of his own, has confirmed he will play in New York, while Sinner watches from afar.
This year has not been without its complications. A shocking second-round collapse at the French Open against Juan Manuel Cerundolo — surrendering a two-set lead in the heat — preceded a full withdrawal from competition until Wimbledon. His triumph there seemed to signal a full return. The US Open withdrawal suggests otherwise. At 44 wins and just 3 losses, Sinner's season remains extraordinary. But the question now is not his quality — it is time, and whether the momentum of a dominant year can survive the wait.
Jannik Sinner will not be playing in the US Open this year. The announcement came on Friday, delivered through social media by the world's top-ranked player, who is nursing a right knee injury that has refused to heal since he won Wimbledon last month. For the 25-year-old Italian, the decision marks a rare setback—his first absence from a Grand Slam tournament since he entered the professional circuit at the US Open in 2019.
Sinner had been the defending champion at Flushing Meadows, having beaten Taylor Fritz in straight sets in the 2024 final. That victory gave him his fourth major title at the time. He has since added a fifth, claiming his second consecutive Wimbledon crown when he defeated Alexander Zverev in late July. But the physical toll of that triumph has proven steeper than anticipated. After Wimbledon, he withdrew from the hard-court warm-up tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati, hoping a few weeks of rest would be enough to get him ready for New York. It wasn't.
In his statement, Sinner acknowledged the disappointment with candor. He and his medical team had been working intensively, even returning to the court in Monte Carlo in recent days to test his readiness. The conclusion was unavoidable: more time was needed. "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," he wrote. He added that New York held special significance for him and that he had been eager to return to the electric atmosphere of the tournament.
The withdrawal reshapes the men's singles draw in ways that extend beyond a single absence. Sinner's rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz has defined professional tennis over the past year. They met in the final of three consecutive Grand Slams in 2025, with Alcaraz winning the most recent—the US Open itself—in four sets, ending Sinner's title reign. Now Alcaraz has confirmed he will compete in New York after his own injury layoff. Alcaraz has been sidelined since April with a right wrist injury but indicated Thursday that he would be ready to play.
This year has been complicated for Sinner beyond the knee issue. He arrived at the French Open in strong form, having already collected six titles by that point in the season. But in the second round, he suffered a stunning collapse against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, squandering a two-set lead while struggling in the heat. He then withdrew from competition entirely until Wimbledon, where his victory proved he had recovered his form. The US Open withdrawal suggests that recovery was incomplete.
Sinner's absence from the main draw, which begins on August 30, marks a turning point in what has been an otherwise dominant year. At 44 wins and only 3 losses, his record speaks to his quality. But tennis, like all sports, is unforgiving about injury. The question now is not whether Sinner will return—he will—but when, and whether the momentum he carried into the summer can be reclaimed.
Citations marquantes
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.— Jannik Sinner, in a statement on social media
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.— Jannik Sinner, expressing his disappointment
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