Defending champion Novak Djokovic, who beat the Spaniard to win gold at the Paris Olympics, will be playing for the first time since his historic victory. He is aiming for his 25th TSB title, as well as his 100th career title. Defending champion Coco Gauff is in a poor position. She has not reached the final since winning the title in Auckland in January this year.
Although most of the top players have confirmed their participation in the US Open, several famous tennis players will miss the tournament:
Zhu Lin
Last year, Zhu defeated two-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one Victoria Azarenka at the US Open. The 2023 season has been a breakthrough season for her in many ways.
In addition to her performance in New York, Zhu won her first WTA title, reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and entered the top 40 of the WTA rankings. However, this time, the Chinese will not be able to participate in the last TBS of the season due to injury.
Ons Gill
Jabeur has been out since Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury. She did not go to the Olympics and then withdrew from the tournaments in Washington and Cincinnati. Thanks to Jabeur’s withdrawal, Russian Kamila Rakhimova enters the main draw. Ons was supposed to play Veronika Kudermetova, but now the Russian will meet Elise Mertens.
Sorana Cirstea
Last year, Kirstea reached the quarter-finals of the US Open for the first time since reaching that stage at Roland Garros in 2009. This year, she has had some good results, reaching the semi-finals in Dubai and the fourth round in Miami.
However, Cîrstea was unable to play at a high level due to constant pain in her foot. Unfortunately, there was ultimately no choice but to treat it surgically. She underwent surgery a few weeks ago and will now miss not only the US Open, but the rest of the season. She plans to return early next year.
Cameron Norrie
Norrie currently has a season record of 17-15. His best results have been the semi-finals of the Rio Open, as well as the fourth round of the Australian Open.
The Briton announced on Friday August 16 his decision to withdraw from the US Open due to a forearm injury.
His best result at the US Open was reaching the fourth round in 2022, and he advanced to the third round last year. Norrie has not played a single match since losing to Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Nordea Open in mid-July. He also missed out on the chance to represent his country at the Paris Olympics.
Marketa Vondrousova
The quarter-finals at Roland Garros and the semi-finals in Stuttgart were the Czech’s best performances this year.
At Wimbledon, the Czech’s title defence ended in the first round with a 4-6, 2-6 loss to Jessica Buzas Maneiro. She has not played a match since and withdrew from the US Open on 16 August due to a hand injury. Vondrousova reached the quarter-finals in New York last year after her Wimbledon triumph.
Rafael Nadal
Nadal did not play last year and reached the quarter-finals in Brisbane on his return, but suffered another injury that forced him to miss the Australian Open.
The Spaniard delayed his return to the circuit until the clay court season, where his best result was the fourth round of the Madrid Open. He was eliminated in the first round of the French Open, losing to Alexander Zverev.
Nadal then reached his first final of the season at the Nordea Open in Bastad, but lost to Nuno Borges. He left the Paris Olympics without a medal, losing to Djokovic in the second round of the singles and in the quarter-finals of the doubles with Alcaraz.
Nadal initially used his protected ranking to qualify for the US Open. However, after the Olympics, he decided to skip the tournament. The Spaniard has won four times in New York, winning his last title in 2019. He is next expected to compete at the Laver Cup, which will be held from September 20-22.
Vyacheslav Gorbachev, Athletistic
Source: Sport
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
