The withdrawals have started pouring in for the US Open, with British No.1 Emma Raducanu and American Sebastian Korda confirming their absences at the event. Both withdrawals come on the heels of injury battles that have robbed each player of the better part of the season. 

Raducanu is going through one of the most frustrating stretches of her career. Before Wimbledon, she was diagnosed with a right shin stress fracture, which was initially thought to be minor, but scans confirmed it was a grade four, the most severe type. The former world No. 10 had reached the finals of Queen’s and was showing great form to enter her home slam until these new developments surfaced. 

She tried her best to get ready for her first round of Wimbledon but was forced to withdraw on the eve of her first game. Followed by the Canadian Open and Cincinnati, she is now set to miss the US Open for the second time in four years. Journalist Charlotte Eccleshare summed up the toll the season has taken, writing simply that it has been “a very tough season for her.” Organizers are yet to announce who will replace Raducanu in the main draw. 

Korda’s story is a similarly crushing one. In March, the American’s form was arguably at its best, after taking the Delray Beach title and defeating world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in three sets to reach the fourth round of the Miami Open. Several days later, his back spasms returned in his next tournament, and the problem never went away, adding a lot of pressure to the sciatic nerve, despite months of conservative management. 

The 26-year-old then missed both the clay and grass seasons, not playing at Roland Garros or Wimbledon, but in early August, after staying four months away from the tour, he ultimately had to undergo back surgery a few days ago. The US Open withdrawal is his third straight missed Grand Slam event, a run of misfortune for the former world No.15. Australian player Aleksandar Vukic moves into the main draw in his place.

Several other players have withdrawn from the US Open due to injury

Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu has also withdrawn from the women’s main draw, with Elsa Jacquemot moving into her place. Begu had first earned her place in the tournament as a protected player in the top 200, and the reason for her dropping out of New York hasn’t been made public. 

This year’s scale of absences suggests a truly terrible injury rate throughout the tour leading up to the last major of the season. Two of the WTA’s breakout stars in the past year, Victoria Mboko and Hailey Baptiste, are both missing the event entirely due to long-term knee injuries, while world No. 99 Varvara Gracheva is out on an ACL tear suffered during training earlier this March.

Other notable players on the entry list who did not receive a direct entry due to ranking are reigning Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu and 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin. On the men’s side, Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov, Jack Draper and Reilly Opelka are among the players relying on wildcards based on their injury protections, special rankings or organizer discretion to simply get through this year’s US Open. 

With the tournament beginning on August 30, the 2021 US Open champion and the home favorite will both be watching from the sidelines as the season reaches its climax, a complete reversal of the momentum they had gained early in the season.