After playing regularly on the Tour for most of this season, it appears that Jannik Sinner‘s fitness has started deteriorating. The World No. 1 recently withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters due to a right knee issue and is yet to play a competitive match since his Wimbledon triumph. With no positive injury update coming out of Sinner’s camp, serious doubts have emerged over his participation in the US Open.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Sinner returned to Turin on Sunday after celebrating his 25th birthday. He then held a closed-door training session at the Circolo della Stampa Sporting and is focused on recovering from his knee injury. He is also scheduled to undergo tests at JMedical, the same facility he had visited after his exit at the French Open. The report stated that Sinner will only leave for New York if he is 100% fit, but there seem to be no positive signs for him at the moment.

His team is taking maximum caution and isn’t rushing his recovery just for the sake of playing in the US Open. They certainly don’t want the knee issue to become bigger than it already is, as it can ruin Sinner’s last few months of the season.

It is safe to say that the Italian’s fitness hasn’t been up to par in recent weeks. His withdrawal from Cincinnati proved that the knee needed time to recover. But if he manages to participate in the US Open despite not being fully fit, he would still be considered the biggest contender for the title.

A player like Sinner can’t be underestimated just because he didn’t play the hard-court events that were held before the Grand Slam. Similarly, he didn’t play any grass-court tournaments, yet still went on to clinch the Wimbledon title. So, he just can’t be moved out of the equation.

Interestingly, even if Sinner misses the US Open, he will have no problems with his No. 1 ranking. There is currently a humongous 5,290-point gap between him and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. If the Italian doesn’t play at Flushing Meadows, then he will lose 1300 points because he reached the final last year. That won’t be enough to dethrone him from the top, and he will maintain his rank.

But Sinner would definitely want to play the Grand Slam, as he can very well have a clear shot at yet another title. This is because there are doubts around Alcaraz’s participation as well, and Novak Djokovic isn’t looking in great shape and isn’t in great form either. Sinner’s biggest competitor can be Alexander Zverev again, a player against whom he has a great record (11-4). He also reigns supreme over local heroes Ben Shelton (9-1) and Taylor Fritz (4-1) in the H2H record.

But as of now, many are worried about Sinner’s participation at the US Open, and this includes Patrick Mouratoglou. He believes that the knee problems could put pressure on him and could severely affect his preparations for the tournament.

Patrick Mouratoglou expresses concern over Jannik Sinner’s US Open participation

Having coached multiple successful tennis stars, Patrick Mouratoglou knows a thing or two about stress injuries. In a recent video, he expressed concern about Jannik Sinner and said,

“Am I worried for Jannik? Yes and no. I’m not worried for Jannik in the sense that, ‘oh wow, he’s going to come to a Grand Slam without playing any match.’ He did it at Wimbledon, and he won. And again, he has so much margin. But you know, he had this problem with his knee. At a Grand Slam, there is a lot of pressure.”

Mouratoglou feels that Sinner should give rest to the knee and stay away from the courts for the time being.

“He will have to be super efficient, not spend too much time on the courts, to be able to crush the opponents. So yes, there are reasons to worry for them,” he added.

With there being doubts over Sinner and Alcaraz’s participation, the upcoming edition of the US Open can be very hard to predict. It will open up doors for other players, and a new Grand Slam champion could also be crowned. It may as well turn out to be one of the most exciting editions of the tournament in recent times.