ATP Tour injury crisis ‘worst I’ve ever seen’ after Jannik Sinner joins US Open withdrawal list
The ATP Tour’s injury issues have been described as the “worst ever” after Jannik Sinner joined a lengthy list of US Open withdrawals.
Hot on the heels of Carlos Alcaraz announcing he would be fit to play in the US Open after more than four months out with a wrist injury, Sinner pulled out of the tournament with a knee injury.
Over the course of this year, top 10 players, past and present, have had been forced into spells on the sidelines, including Sinner, Alcaraz, Arthur Fils, Taylor Fritz, Lorenzo Musetti, Jack Draper, and Holger Rune.
An increasingly demanding schedule, the sport becoming more and more gruelling, and more, are some of the suggested reasons why players are getting injured or are pulling out of tournaments last minute.
Now, tennis content creator Gill Gross has had his say, describing this situation as a new low. Sinner, and Alcaraz met in the finals of the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open last year but in 2026, there will be no major meetings.
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He said on his YouTube channel, “Jannik Sinner not playing [at the US Open], big disappointment. And obviously I said that they have flip-flopped. Carlos has missed the last two slams. Jannik will miss the next one.
“It really does put an exclamation mark on a year to me that has been defined by injuries on the ATP Tour. The worst I have ever seen it. I don’t think it’s ever been worse. We will not see Sinner versus Alcaraz in best of five after we saw it three times last year.
“Then you go down the list, and we know about Jack Draper and Lorenzo Musetti, who are both players that I predicted to finish in the top five at the end of the year. They have been completely out of that conversation as a result of their health problems. Holger Rune hasn’t hit a ball this year and Arthur Fils has missed two slams.”
Gross added that an increase in the number of injuries is “inevitable” due to players hitting harder and there being lighter rackets, which is leading to a rise in arm issues.
And while for some players the gruelling schedule is a problem, Sinner has played one tournament since the French Open, his 2026 Wimbledon triumph. The tennis commentator also felt the quality of matches and tournaments have taken a “huge hit” because of injuries.
He continued, “In recent years, I can tell you factually that walkovers are up, retirements are up, withdrawals are up. I have proven that through the data. I think there’s a multitude of factors.
“I don’t think two-week Masters have helped. I do think that there is a more cautious culture where players are a little bit quicker to maybe pull out of a tournament or retire from a match if they do start to feel something.
“That’s part of a broader culture of load management and risk mitigation, which is good. But I do think that is fleshed into the data. And then it’s faster, it’s more explosive, it’s harder hitting, it’s the technological factors that I mentioned.
“I think all of these things are coming together to create an environment in which there are more injuries, but I sure as heck hope that it’s not like this every year. And I hope that this is an outlier year and that this is an unlucky year.”
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