17 August 2020

Belinda Bencic is latest star to pull out of US Open

2019 US Open semi-finalist Belinda Bencic has withdrawn from this year’s tournament.

"I have made the difficult decision to skip the US swing in New York and will return to the starting tour in Rome next month," she wrote on Twitter.

She has joined defending champion Bianca Andreescu and 2019 semi-finalist Elina Svitolina in missing the tournament.

It means Serena Williams will be the only semi-finalist from last year taking part.

World No 1 Ashleigh Barty and Kiki Bertens have also withdrawn from the competition with many players citing the coronavirus pandemic as the reason they will not be attending.

Williams will star at the New York-based competition which is due to start on August 31. She will be looking for her 24th Grand Slam title to equal Margaret Court’s record.

And it is not just the women’s game which has seen high profile withdrawals. Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, Fabio Fognini, Gael Monfils and Nick Kyrgios will all be mssing.

Roger Federer will also be absent but this is due to a knee injury.

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