US Open withdrawal list: 21 stars out as former world No 2 becomes latest big name absentee

Main draw action at the 2026 US Open is now underway, and a former runner-up has joined the list of players to withdraw from the year’s final major.

The 146th edition of the US Open began on Sunday 30 August, and the hard-court Grand Slam will conclude with the men’s singles final on Sunday 13 August.

The US Open, which is the last event of the North American summer hard-court season, is staged at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York City.

Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka are the defending singles champions, with the pair having each secured their second US Open titles last year.

Jannik Sinner won the 2024 US Open and was a runner-up in 2025, but the Italian pulled out before this year’s event due to a right knee injury.

The ATP world No 1 has not played since capturing his fifth Grand Slam title at Wimbledon last month.

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Casper Ruud, a three-time Grand Slam finalist and former world No 2, has become the 12th man and 21st player overall to withdraw from the US Open.

The 27-year-old Norwegian pulled out shortly after play began on Sunday due to a back injury that forced him to retire in his opening match at the Cincinnati Masters.

Ruud, who was a runner-up to Alcaraz at the 2022 US Open, confirmed his withdrawal on Instagram.

“Unfortunately, my back hasn’t healed as quickly as we had hoped,” Ruud wrote.

“We’ve been optimistic that I would recover in time, but my team and I have decided that we need to think long term and give my body the time it needs.

“I’m very sad to announce that I have to withdraw from this year’s US Open singles event. It’s never easy to miss a Grand Slam, but I know this is the right decision.”

“I’ll take the time I need to recover properly and come back stronger. Thank you for all the support.”

World No 20 Ruud is the second highest ranked man to withdraw after Sinner.

2026 US Open ATP withdrawal list

• Jannik Sinner (world No 1) – replaced by Carlos Taberner
• Casper Ruud (world No 20) – replaced by Arthur Gea
• Joao Fonseca (world No 26) – replaced by Jacob Fearnley (LL)
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (world No 27) – replaced by Alexei Popyrin
• Ugo Humbert (world No 30) – Shintaro Mochizuki (LL)
• Ethan Quinn (world No 45) – replaced by Martin Damm
• Sebastian Korda (world No 64) – replaced by Aleksandar Vukic
• Holger Rune (world No 80) – replaced by Facundo Diaz Acosta
• Gabriel Diallo (world No 92) – replaced by Wu Yibing
• Emilio Nava (world No 100) – replaced by Benjamin Bonzi
• Patrick Kypson (world No 116) – replaced by Stan Wawrinka
• Jack Draper (world No 141) – would have needed to play qualifying due to his ranking

2026 US Open WTA withdrawal list

• Victoria Mboko (world No 15) – replaced by Mananchaya Sawangkaew
• Hailey Baptiste (world No 34) – replaced by Kaitlin Quevedo
• Jaqueline Cristian (world No 41) – replaced by Darja Vidmanova
• Emma Raducanu (world No 59) – replaced by Anna Blinkova
• Irina-Camelia Begu (world No 82 PR) – replaced by Elsa Jacquemot
• Jil Teichmann (world No 89 PR) – replaced by Julia Grabher
• Ajla Tomljanovic (world No 93) – replaced by Ella Seidel
• Laura Siegemund (world No 98) – replaced by Nadia Podoroska
• Varvara Gracheva (world No 106) – replaced by Anastasia Zakharova

READ NEXT: Jannik Sinner: What specific injury does the world No 1 have? And when could he return?

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