The US Open gets underway in a week. Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff will come to Flushing Meadows as the defending champions while world No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek look to add to their trophy cabinets.
But not everyone will be playing the last Grand Slam of the season, including Rafael Nadal. The four-time US Open champion is one of seven big names who have been forced to miss the tournament this year.
Express Sport takes a look at the key players who will be absent in New York.
Rafael Nadal
The 22-time Grand Slam winner put his name on the entry list but admitted this was just a formality in case he decided to play. Nadal has competed in just seven tournaments this year due to ongoing injury setbacks. He hasn’t played a match away from clay courts since January.
After the Olympics – where he reached the second round in singles and the quarter-final in doubles – he pulled out of the US Open. “I will miss those electric and special night sessions in NYC at Ashe, but I don’t think I would be able to give my 100 per cent this time. Thanks to all my US Fans in particular, will miss you all and will see you another time,” he wrote. Nadal’s next tournament will be the Laver Cup.
Cameron Norrie
The British No. 2 is carrying a forearm injury and has not played since losing to Nadal in Bastad a month ago. He travelled to the Olympics but withdrew hours before his match. Norrie then headed to Cincinnati but was also forced to pull out. He has since announced his US Open withdrawal, saying: “I have been working hard to get my body to full health – unfortunately my forearm injury is not recovering as soon as I would have hoped.”
Nick Kyrgios
The former Wimbledon finalist has played just one singles match since October 2022 after struggling with persistent knee and wrist injuries. He is set to make a comeback at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown exhibition tournament this week and will play another exho match in Flushing Meadows during US Open fan week but has not entered the main draw.
Simona Halep
Halep has barely played since having her four-year suspension reduced to nine months. She immediately returned at the Miami Open in March following a successful appeal but lost in the first round.
The former world No. 1 then entered a WTA 125 event in Paris in May but retired during her opening match. She has been sidelined by a knee injury ever since. Halep also failed to receive a wildcard for the French Open and did not apply for a Wimbledon one due to her physical issues.
Marketa Vondrousova
The world No. 18 has been plagued by injuries this summer. She fell and retired with a hip injury during the Berlin Championships in June but prematurely rushed back for her Wimbledon title defence though she lost in the first round. Vondrousova pulled out of the Olympics with a hand injury and has since withdrawn from the US Open.
Kei Nishikori
Nishikori reached his only Grand Slam final at the US Open a decade ago. But he won’t be able to return this year after his injury-protected ranking ran out. The Japanese tennis star recently reached the Canadian Open quarter-final and upset Stefanos Tsitsipas en route. But he is not ranked high enough to get into the US Open main draw or the qualifying event and did not receive a wildcard. He will compete in a series of Challenger tournaments instead.
Milos Raonic
Another former Grand Slam finalist, Raonic reached the championship match at Wimbledon in 2016. But the Canadian has been plagued by injuries over the last few years. He recently missed his home tournament at the Masters 1000 in Montreal and has since pulled out of the qualifying event in Flushing Meadows, where he was set to fight for a US Open main draw spot.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk