Alexander Zverev confirms withdrawal from the US Open

US Open

James Richardson
August 22, 2022

Alexander Zverev has finally confirmed that he will not be taking part in the 2022 US Open Tennis Championships at Flushing Meadows.

Zverev has yet to return to the court in competitive action with just one tournament to be completed before the US Open gets underway.

With the main draw taking place on Thursday, 25 August, it had become apparent that Zverev would not be in the field but the German gave himself the maximum time to attempt to get ready.

Zverev attained a career-high ranking after the French Open and has held the World No 2 position for several months despite his inaction.

His withdrawal from the final Grand Slam of the year means that Zverev is pretty much guaranteed to finally slip from his position after the US Open.

Zverev will be replaced in the main draw by 24-year-old American Stefan Kozlov who will be making his main draw debut having failed at six attempts to battle through the qualifiers.

The US Open have issued a statement confirming Zverev’s withdrawal from the event.

“2020 US Open finalist Alexander Zverev will miss the 2022 US Open.

“The 25-year-old German officially withdrew from the event on Monday as a result of a continuing ankle injury.

“Zverev has been sidelined since June after he suffered the injury against Rafael Nadal in the semifinals at Roland Garros.

“Ahead of the second-set tiebreak, Zverev rolled his right ankle while chasing a ball behind the baseline, and was forced to leave the court in a wheelchair.

“He later underwent surgery for three torn lateral ligaments in the affected ankle.

“Zverev had played 27 consecutive Grand Slam main draws since his 2015 debut before this injury also forced him out of Wimbledon. He had played seven straight US Open main draws, and in addition to finishing as runner-up to Dominic Thiem in 2020, reached the semifinals last year.

“American Stefan Kozlov moves into the main draw to replace Zverev. The 24-year-old Floridian will make his US Open main draw debut after falling in qualifying on six previous occasions.”

Up until the ankle injury that cruelly ended his Roland Garros run, Zverev had been among the most consistent players in the top ten.

He reached the last four of all three of the clay court Masters series events in 2022 and was locked in a tight tussle with Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros when disaster struck.

It remains unclear when Zverev will make his return to the ATP Tour.

Alexander Zverev