Former world number two withdraws from Cincinnati with injury and is now a real doubt for the US Open

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The brutal American hard court season is well underway, as Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff prepare to defend their US Open titles.

There has been a real catalog of upsets as the hard court season has got underway, with Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, and Ons Jabeur all suffering resounding early defeats.

The men’s side has also seen a fair few shocks, with Daniil Medvedev, Tommy Paul, and Jannik Sinner all suffering premature exits at the Montreal Open.

After the challenging switch from clay to grass, those competing at the Olympics had to move back onto the clay for a week, before embracing the North American hard courts.

A handful of top players missed the Paris Olympics, either through injury, or as Emma Raducanu said, in order to avoid the surface change and preserve her health and fitness.

Jabeur was another high-profile players who made the difficult decision not to represent her beloved Tunisia in order to preserve her health.

Despite her careful approach however, she has suffered a new injury set-back just weeks before the US Open.

Ons Jabeur issues a concerning injury update after withdrawing from Cincinnati

The Tunisian severely struggled to find any of her usual verve and tactical nouse, as she was blasted off the court by Naomi Osaka in the opening round of the Toronto Open.

With Osaka later easily defeated by Elise Mertens in the following round, it spoke volumes about Ons Jabeur’s poor level, which she has since addressed via a post on her Instagram story.

She said: “I regret to inform you that due to an aggravated shoulder injury, I will be unable to participate at the Cincinnati Open this year.

“Despite my best efforts to recover in time, playing in Toronto did not help, [and] my current condition does not allow me to compete at the level required.

“I am doing all my best to recover for the upcoming US Open in New York.”

With the US Open mere weeks away, Jabeur faces a race against time to simply be fit, with a challenge for the title looking increasingly unlikely.

What is Ons Jabeur’s injury-record like?

The world number 10 has been struggling with a recurring knee injury over the past two years and the 29-year-old publicly aired her concerns about the surface changes either side of the Olympics.

During the build-up to Paris, Jabeur explained that the quick change of surface and the adaptation her body would need to undergo would put her knee at risk and jeopardise the rest of her season.

Jabeur’s movement and delicate hands are her two key strengths, but she has been unable to rely on them while she has nursed these injuries.

The 2022 US Open runner-up now looks to be miles away from challenging once again, with the Tunisian facing a race against time to even step on to court.