Sinner withdraws from U.S. Open
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Top-ranked Jannik Sinner withdrew from the U.S. Open on Friday, 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 warmup for the U.S. Open.
The 25-year-old Italian wrote Friday that he won’t be ready when the main draw begins on Aug. 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 wrote in a post on X.
“We have been back on court in Monte Carlo over the last couple of days and have realized 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 U.S. 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 he has been out of action since April because of a right wrist injury.
The rivalry between those two has dominated men’s tennis in recent years, and they met in the last three Grand Slam finals in 2025. Alcaraz took the most recent one with his four-set victory in New York.
That ended Sinner’s title reign after he beat 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 U.S. Open in 2019.
Rybakina stops playing vs. Swiatek at Cincinnati
MASON, Ohio (AP) -- Elena Rybakina stopped playing during the first set of her quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday night.
With the No. 2-ranked Rybakina serving at 1-4, 40-40, she took a medical timeout to have trainers address her left ankle area and retired from the match moments later.
“Of course I feel not the greatest,” Rybakina said. “It’s painful to walk. We’ll know more tomorrow when we have the MRI. It’s been bothering me for a long period of time but felt like I had it under control.”
After aggravating the injury during the second set on Thursday, she spent several minutes speaking with trainers before returning to the court. She decided to call it quits after she was unable to put full weight on her leg while attempting a serve.
“It was feeling OK before (Thursday’s) match,” Rybakina said. “Unfortunately one wrong movement and something happened.”
With top seed Aryna Sabalenka losing Thursday night to Sara Bejlik, the 27-year-old Rybakina could have risen to No. 1 in the rankings by reaching the final.
Swiatek, the defending champion, has reached at least the semifinals in each of her last four appearances in Cincinnati. Swiatek beat Rybakina in the semifinals in Cincinnati last year. She’ll face American Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.
“Not the way you want the match to end,” Swiatek said. “She didn’t look good, obviously. Then she wanted treatment and I wasn’t sure if she was going to be back or not. She’s walking normally now. I felt really sorry for her but hopefully it’s nothing serious and she’s going to be ready for the U.S. Open.”
Pegula beat fellow American Amanda Anisimova, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (4), on Thursday for her tour-leading 44th win of the season. It’s her second trip to the semifinals in Cincinnati; she lost to Sabalenka in the final two years ago.
Four American men reached the quarterfinals in Cincinnati for the first time since 1995, but Flavio Cobolli knocked out Tommy Paul on Thursday, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, to reach his fifth semifinal this year and rise to a career-best No. 6 in the rankings. Cobolli is the second Italian man to reach the semis in Cincinnati, joining Jannik Sinner.
Cobolli will face 22-year-old Arthur Fils in the semifinals. Fils beat Thiago Agustín Tirante, 6-3, 6-2, to become the sixth man born since 2000 to reach three ATP Masters 1000 semifinals.