Aug 21 (Reuters) - World number one Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the U.S. Open due to a persistent right knee injury, the Italian said on Friday, depriving the season's final Grand Slam of one of its biggest contenders.
The 24-year-old, who captured his fifth major title at Wimbledon last month, has not played since sustaining the injury earlier this month.
He pulled out of the Cincinnati Open and also skipped the Canadian Open, two key hard-court tune-up events ahead of the Grand Slam tournament in New York.
"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 U.S. Open this year," Sinner said in a statement 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."
The announcement comes a day after world number two Carlos Alcaraz confirmed he would compete at Flushing Meadows following a four-month absence from competitive tennis.
Alcaraz, who beat Sinner in last year's U.S. Open final, now heads to New York as the highest-ranked player and one of the favourites to lift the title, despite recent injury troubles.
Sinner's absence removes one of the Spaniard's biggest rivals and could ease his path as he bids for an eighth Grand Slam crown.
The U.S. Open runs from August 23 to September 13.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
