Jannik Sinner Withdraws From Cincinnati Open With Right Knee Injury, Third Straight Skipped Tournament

Jannik Sinner is skipping another tournament. The World No. 1 withdrew from the Cincinnati Open due to a right knee injury, the tournament announced, leaving his readiness for the U.S. Open an open question with less than three weeks to go.

Sinner explained the decision came after consulting his medical team. "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," he said in a statement released by the tournament. He added he was "very disappointed" to miss Cincinnati and wished tournament director Bob Moran and the event "a great and successful" run.

Sinner also skipped the Canadian Open in Montreal earlier this month, saying at the time he needed to "prioritize" his health. That means he's now sat out two straight ATP events on the North American summer swing, and he hasn't competed at all since winning Wimbledon in July, where he beat Alexander Zverev in the final for his sixth career major title.

The U.S. Open's main draw starts August 30. Sinner has roughly three weeks between his last competitive match and the start of the year's final Grand Slam, all while trying to manage a knee issue serious enough to force back-to-back withdrawals.

Sinner's history at Flushing Meadows raises the stakes. He won the title there in 2024, beating Taylor Fritz in the final. Last year he reached the final again but lost in four sets to Carlos Alcaraz, the current World No. 2. A third straight deep U.S. Open run would cement his status atop the sport, but only if the knee holds up.

No specifics have been released on the nature or severity of the injury beyond Sinner's own description of it "bothering" him. There's no imaging report, no diagnosis, and no timeline attached to his statement beyond his stated intent to be ready for New York. Standard practice for players managing injuries mid-season means disclosing too much can tip off opponents or invite scrutiny of a title defense.

The tour has already seen its share of injury news this summer. Players skip tune-up events all the time to protect their bodies for majors. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and plenty of others have made careers out of picking their battles on the calendar.

Two consecutive skipped events is more significant than one. If Sinner were fully healthy, Cincinnati is exactly the kind of hard-court tournament a U.S. Open favorite would want for match rhythm against top competition. Skipping it means he'll walk into Flushing Meadows with no competitive matches since Wimbledon, a nearly two-month gap for the man ranked No. 1 in the world.

Whether Sinner plays any tournament before the U.S. Open begins remains to be seen, as does the condition of his right knee when he does. Nothing in his statement or the tournament's announcement suggests a target return date. Until he's back on court, his U.S. Open status stays exactly what it's been for weeks: unresolved.