The 2025 US Open lost another high-profile men's player after Arthur Fils announced his withdrawal from the season's final Grand Slam.
Fils is among the most exciting young talents in tennis. However, the 21-year-old needs to make significant improvements to reach Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's level, the dominant ATP players since the start of 2024.
Despite that being the case, Fils is already an excellent player. He won 500-level titles last year in Hamburg and Tokyo, and pushed Alcaraz to three sets in a tight battle at the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters.
Fils's ambitions for this season were interrupted when he sustained a stress fracture in his back during his French Open second-round match against Jaume Munar. Incredibly, he beat the Spaniard despite being physically hampered.
Although a courageous effort, Fils realized how severe the issue was after stepping off the court. The home favorite was forced to withdraw from his home tournament in Paris, giving Andrey Rublev a walkover into the fourth round.
That problem kept Fils out of the entire grass court swing. The three-time ATP titlist returned at the 2025 Canadian Open, beating Pablo Carreno Busta before falling in a close battle against Jiri Lehecka.
Fils then withdrew from the 2025 Cincinnati Open, and has now also removed himself from the US Open entry list. In a statement released on his Instagram stories, the world No. 20 said he had a slight setback in his recovery and did not want to risk worsening the issue.
"After an injury that kept me away from the court, a warning sign felt during my comeback — first in Toronto, then in Cincinnati — led me to make the difficult but reasonable decision to withdraw from the US Open. I'm working hard every day with my team to come back strong and be ready for this end of season. Thank you for all your support."
Hopefully, Fils's caution pays dividends, and he is fit and ready for the post-US Open swing. Tournaments are enhanced with players like him involved, and fans in New York would have enjoyed watching his electrifying style.
Several high-profile players have withdrawn from the US Open
Before Fils's announcement, there had been a combination of ATP and WTA withdrawals. Grigor Dimitrov could not recover in time from tearing a chest muscle during his Wimbledon quarterfinal against Jannik Sinner.
Matteo Berrettini and Hubert Hurkacz were the other men's players who withdrew from the US Open. Both are out with injuries, and Berrettini has only made one appearance since the 2025 Italian Open in May.
On the WTA side, 2022 runner-up Ons Jabeur is absent after taking a break from tennis to prioritize her well-being. She hopes to rediscover her passion for the game and return as a better player at an unspecified future date.
Paula Badosa withdrew because of a back injury, a chronic problem the Spaniard has struggled with for two years. Olympic Gold Medalist Qinwen Zheng also cannot play after undergoing surgery for a persistent elbow injury.
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