Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza has announced that she will not participate in the upcoming U.S Open after suffering an elbow injury during the National Bank Open in Canada two weeks ago. The veteran tennis star confirmed this news via a story on Instagram.
The 35-year-old, who had announced that she would be retiring at the end of the 2022 season in January, said she had picked up the injury while competing at the Canadian Open this month. “Hi guys, a quick update. I just have some not-so-great news.”
“I hurt my forearm/elbow while playing in Canada 2 weeks ago and obviously, didn’t realize how bad it was until I got my scans yesterday and unfortunately I have in fact torn a little bit of my tendon,” Mirza posted on Instagram. “I will be out for weeks and have pulled out of US Open. This isn’t ideal and it’s terrible timing and it will change some of my retirement plans but I will keep you posted,” she continued.
Like Sania Mirza, World number two Alexander Zverev has also pulled out of the US Open as he continues to recover from torn ankle ligaments. The news was confirmed by the tournament organisers as they released a statement on Monday. The 25-year-old has been out of action since the injury he suffered during the French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal in June.
The German previously lost in the final of the 2020 US Open against Dominic Thiem. Zvaerev was leading by two sets and had reached the semi-finals last year. His spot in the main draw of the 29 August - 11 September tournament will be taken by American tennis star Stefan Kozlov.
Talking about the 2022 US Open, the tournament is set to create a new record with $60.1 million in total player compensation as per the US Tennis Association. The tournament will be awarding $2.6 million to the singles champion, twice the runner-up total. The prize money leaps over the old mark of $57.5 million from last year, with a focus on improving payouts for players in early rounds.