US Open Kicks Off Under Cloud of Injuries

Tennis’ injury problem is getting worse

Tennis injury wave grows as players and experts call for change. Alcaraz, Djokovic, and a sport at a breaking point, inside tennis’ injury crisis.

“Easier said than done,” why tennis injuries are spiking and what’s being done...

 

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner traded the Grand Slam titles last year, and many thought 2026 would be another back-and-forth battle between the two.  

Instead, that storyline has gone missing.

The chances of seeing Alcaraz vs Sinner at a major have been wiped out in three of the four Slams this year. The Spaniard sat out Roland-Garros and Wimbledon with a wrist issue, while the Italian is also missing the US Open with a knee problem.

They’re not the only big names sidelined in 2026. A growing list of top players missing key events through injury has become a major concern for tennis.

Lorenzo Musetti and Arthur Fils both missed Grand Slams earlier this year with injuries, but the Italian and the Frenchman are back in action in New York. On the women’s side, world No.2 Elena Rybakina is battling a heel issue ahead of her opener. Canada’s Victoria Mboko will miss both Wimbledon and the US Open, as will Britain’s Jack Draper.

 

Today’s top players have far more support than past generations. They benefit from advanced fitness and nutrition programs, more open conversations around mental health, and better tech for spotting and treating injuries.

“We're losing the battle overall despite the advances in sports medicine,” said Neeru Jayanthi, who leads the tennis medicine program at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta.

 

The spike in injuries reflects the brutal physical demands of the modern game. Tennis is getting faster and more powerful, and new racquet tech now lets players hit heavy topspin that simply wasn’t possible in earlier eras.

“The game has gotten more intense because the players have gotten bigger, faster, and stronger,” said Mackie Shilstone, a longtime fitness expert who worked with Serena Williams for 14 years.

That added speed makes every change of direction harder on the body. Shilstone also pointed to harsher weather from climate change as another factor wearing players down.

 

On top of that, tennis is now an 11-month grind. The calendar is packed with the four Grand Slams plus a string of mandatory 1000-level events that drive the sport’s big business.

“You can't go 11 months straight and travel all over the world,” Shilstone said. “There has to be planned recovery built in.”

Heavy topspin is also driving more wrist injuries across the game, according to New York hand and wrist surgeon Remy Rabinovich of Northwell Health. He does see one positive, players are choosing to take time off instead of playing through pain.

“There is a big element of preventative medicine and more strategic ways of playing in the hopes of having a longer career,” Rabinovich said.

 

Speaking to media on Friday, Alcaraz said he chose to rest until fully fit to “hopefully have a really long career.”

 

Novak Djokovic has also been dealing with injuries lately, and he crashed out of the US Open on opening night after looking physically hampered.

Injuries are nothing new in tennis. Even among the recent greats, Rafael Nadal missed big chunks of his prime through injury, while hip issues effectively ended Andy Murray’s career after his 2016 Wimbledon and Olympic titles.

Roger Federer largely avoided serious injury through most of his career, but he called time in 2022 after admitting: “the knee can't do it anymore,” he said last week.

Since Federer retired, many of the 1000-level events have moved to two-week, combined men’s and women’s draws with 96 players. Federer said the “players are probably mentally and physically adjusting to” that change, and added that avoiding overplaying is “easier said than done.”

  

A 2024 study in the European Journal of Sport Science looking at pro matches from the 1970s to 2019 found an overall rise in match retirements.

But a 2016 study of Wimbledon between 2003 and 2012 found no increase in injuries, while noting “a paucity of published data describing the incidence of injury in elite tennis.”

Reducing injuries is set to be part of the agenda for the new Grand Slam Player Advisory Council. A press release this week said player welfare is included in the council’s mandate.

Changing the tennis calendar is the go-to fix people talk about for injuries, but Emory’s Jayanthi says the answer has to be wider. He argues that major injuries often come from years of heavy junior tennis adding up over time.  

"Perhaps we should revisit the way we decide to train our younger players to position them for long-term success,” he said.