"It’s not 100% healed yet": Former US Open runner-up withdraws from upcoming edition after failing to recover from back injury

Japan’s Kei Nishikori has suffered another major setback ahead of the US Open 2025. The 35-year-old has been going through a rough season, on and off the court. Off the court, recently, Nishikori was forced to apologise after local media outlets reported that he was cheating on his wife with model Azuki Oguchi.

“I deeply apologize for causing discomfort to everyone who supports me: tennis fans, associations, sponsors, and other related parties,” he said back in July. Things have been far from easy on the court as well, for Nishikori has announced that he will not be taking part in the upcoming US Open. The fourth and final Grand Slam of the year will begin on August 24 in New York.

In a post on his social media platform X account, Nishikori announced that he will not take part in the competition after failing to recover from a back injury. “Hi fans, unfortunately I will not be ready for the U.S. Open yet,” wrote Nishikori. “I had an MRI taken of my back and it’s not 100% healed yet. Working hard to be back on court soon. Thanks for the support.”

The decision is a slightly surprising one, considering that Nishikori returned to the court recently and featured in the Cincinnati Open, where he was knocked out after losing in the first round to Camilo Ugo Carabelli in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-3. It was Nishikori’s 10th defeat in 20 matches in 2025, which shows how much he struggled throughout the year, especially since the Geneva Open, where he first suffered a back injury in May during the second round match against Karen Khachanov, where he was forced to retire in the second set.

The recent withdrawal means that Nishikori has now missed 13 out of the 16 Grand Slams since the start of 2022. It will also be the fourth consecutive year where Nishikori will not be able to take part in the mega-event at the Flashing Meadows. This year, Nishikori withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon as well because of a back injury.

His only appearance in a Grand Slam in 2025 was at the Australian Open, where he was knocked out after losing in the second round to America’s Tommy Paul with a score of 6-7, 6-0, 6-3, 6-1. Nishikori’s best outing this year came in the Hong Kong Open in Januar,y where he finished as the runner-up after losing to France’s Alexandre Muller in the final with a score of 2-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Nishikori will be most disappointed about his withdrawal from the US Open out of all the competitions as it remains the competition where, historically, he has the best record out of all the major events. It is the only Grand Slam where Nishikori has managed to play in the semifinal or beyond. Nishikori’s best performance while playing at the US Open came 11 years back in 2014, where he finished as the runner-up after losing to Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

On two more occasions, Nishikori managed to play in the last four rounds of the US Open. The first occasion came in 2016, when Nishikori lost to Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in the semifinal with a score of 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2. In 2018, Nishikori once again suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the semifinal of the US Open, this time to the former world number one, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Nishikori’s last appearance at the US Open came in 2021, where his journey ended in the third round as he lost to Djokovic again with a score of 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.