US Open: Defending champion Dominic Thiem withdraws after wrist injury

 Dominic Thiem (Photo: Twitter/ Dominic Thiem)
Dominic Thiem (Photo: Twitter/ Dominic Thiem)

New York [USA], August 18 (ANI): World number 6 Dominic Thiem on Wednesday announced that he will miss the US Open where he is the defending champion and the rest of the season due to a wrist injury.

"Unfortunately I've had to withdraw from the US Open and will miss the rest of the 2021 season," Thiem wrote on Twitter. "I'm really disappointed not to be able to defend the title in New York but I haven't recovered from the wrist injury I suffered back in June at the Mallorca Open."

The 27-year-old suffered a detachment of the posterior sheath of the ulnar side of his right wrist during his match against Adrian Mannarino at the Mallorca Championships in June, as per ATPTour.com. A statement from his team two days later said he would wear a splint for several weeks.

Thiem also informed that his recovery had been progressing well, but that he suffered a setback last week during practice. "I hit a ball during training and started to feel some pain again. I went straight to the doctors. After some tests, they said that my wrist needs more time... to recover."

Thiem owns a 9-9 record on the season, with his best result coming at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he advanced to the semi-finals.

The 17-time tour-level champion made the biggest breakthrough of his career last year at the US Open, where he lifted his first Grand Slam trophy.

On Sunday, Roger Federer also confirmed that he would be undergoing more knee surgeries and will miss the upcoming US Open. (ANI)