World number four Stan Wawrinka has announced that he has withdrawn from both the Rogers Cup in Montreal and the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, in what could be a blow to his hopes of the defending his US Open title.

The Swiss, a semifinalist at the Rogers Cup when it was held in Toronto last year, struggled with injury at Wimbledon earlier this year, losing in the first round to Daniil Medvedev, and confirmed today that it was the same injury issues that has forced him to pull out of both Masters 1000 events.

Wawrinka won his third Grand Slam title at the US Open last year (Getty/Jean Catuffe)
Wawrinka won his third Grand Slam title at the US Open last year (Getty/Jean Catuffe)

Wawrinka will now not be in action until the US Open, where he will be hoping to defend the title he won last year, beating Novak Djokovic in four sets in the final. Aside from a disappointing Wimbledon, the Swiss has played well in the other Grand Slams since then, reaching the last four at the Australian Open and the final at the French Open.

Injury trouble disrupts Wawrinka’s New York preperation

It has been a fairly solid season for the Swiss so far, with the world number four being ranked fourth on the Race To London, though these injury problems have now disrupted a significant part of the season.

With 2000 points potentially at stake in Montreal and Cincinnati, Wawrinka would have undoubtedly been eyeing up the opportunity to rebound from his first round loss at the All England Club with two strong tournaments, though announced today that following “much backwards and forwards and consultations” with his doctors, he has decided to skip both tournaments “to be on the safe side.”

Wawrinka struggled with injury during his first round loss at Wimbledon (Getty/David Ramos)
Wawrinka struggled with injury during his first round loss at Wimbledon (Getty/David Ramos)

Furthermore, the Swiss said that the decision was “Hugely disappointing for my fans and myself,” adding that he needs to feel 100 percent confident about his fitness to be able to return to the tour. Wawrinka also commented that himself and his team are doing “everything possible to make this a speedy recovery.”

The Rogers Cup will begin next week, with the Western and Southern Open beginning the week after that.

 

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About the author
Oliver Dickson Jefford
20. English Literature student at the University of Southampton. Aspiring sports journalist from Hertfordshire.