World number one Jannik Sinner ruled himself out of the U.S. Open on Friday citing a persistent knee injury. The Italian’s announcement came just a day after after his rival Carlos Alcaraz announced that he will make his return from a four-month stint away from tennis to deal with a right wrist injury and will play at the last Grand Slam of the year.

“Even though I have been working hard with my team and my medical staff, we have now had to make the difficult decision that I will not be able to compete at the U.S. Open this year,” Sinner said in a statement on X.

“We have been back on court in Monte Carlo over the last couple of days and have realised that I still need more time to recover from my right knee issue.” The U.S. Open runs from August 23 to September 13.

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Earlier, Alcaraz, the defending champion at Flushing Meadows, said that he will be back for the US Open, although he gave the preceding Cincinnati Open, an important stop in the late-season hard-court swing, a miss. “Here we go,” Alcaraz posted on his social media pages Thursday, with one picture showing him in front of the U.S. Open logo.

Alcaraz won his second US Open title last year, beating Sinner in the final. He then won the Australian Open and his next tournament at the start of this season. However, the Spaniard withdrew from the the Barcelona Open after winning the first match of the tournament. He remains No.2 on the world rankings despite his absence.Sinner, on the other hand, went on to win his second Wimbledon title this year. At the Australian Open, he had lost in the semifinal to Novak Djokovic after which he suffered a shock second-round exit at the French Open. Sinner being ruled out of the US Open makes Alcaraz the highest ranked played in the tournament and potentially clears the way for him to win his eighth Grand Slam title.