A Sunday post, and a Grand Slam gone
Casper Ruud will not play the US Open. The Norwegian announced his withdrawal on Instagram this morning, with the main draw about to get under way at Flushing Meadows, and the reason was the back problem that had been shadowing him for weeks.
“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.”
He called it the right call while making no attempt to hide what it cost him. “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.” He signed off by promising to come back stronger.
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The 19th seed had already been on court in New York
Ruud was seeded 19th for the singles, and his last few days in the city were not spent resting. He entered the mixed doubles with Diana Shnaider of Russia and the pair went a long way. They beat Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula in the opening round before Andrey Rublev and Mirra Andreeva ended the run in the quarterfinals.
So the 27-year-old was competing at the same site he has now pulled out of, days before the singles even started. A back that holds up for three sets of mixed doubles is not the same back that survives five-set tennis over a fortnight.
Arthur Gea inherits the seat
Lucky loser Arthur Gea takes the vacant place. The 21-year-old Frenchman goes into the draw against Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the first round, an opening that landed in his lap and is now the biggest of his young career.
The men’s field loses one of its more familiar faces. Ruud reached the final here in 2022, beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in a match that also settled the world No. 1 ranking, and he had already lost the Roland Garros final to Rafael Nadal a few months earlier. A third major final came in Paris in 2023, against Novak Djokovic. Those three runs made him the first Norwegian man to play for a Grand Slam title.
He leaves New York with rehab in front of him and an autumn still worth saving.
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