Grigor Dimitrov won’t be playing at the 2025 US Open. The Bulgarian star is still dealing with the same injury that’s been plaguing him for months.
It’s a pretty devastating blow for someone who had tennis’s longest active streak of playing in Grand Slams.
From the 2011 Australian Open all the way through this year’s Wimbledon, Dimitrov showed up to 58 consecutive majors. That’s more than 13 years without missing a single Grand Slam tournament.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grigor Dimitrov | 34 | 3,775 | 28 - 9 |
But here’s where things get really tough for the 34-year-old.
His last five Grand Slam appearances have all ended the same heartbreaking way – with him having to retire due to injury. It started at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, where he was forced to quit his fourth-round match against Daniil Medvedev while trailing 3-5 in the first set.
A Painful Pattern Emerges
At the 2024 US Open, Dimitrov made it to the quarterfinals before retiring in the fourth set against Frances Tiafoe. He was down 1-2 in sets when his body gave out.
This season didn’t start any better. Dimitrov had to retire from his very first match at the Australian Open against lucky loser Francesco Passaro.
At the 2025 French Open, Dimitrov completed what you might call a "Grand Slam of retirements" – his fourth consecutive major ended early due to injury.
This one was particularly cruel. He was dominating qualifier Ethan Quinn, leading 6-2, 6-3, 2-1, when he hurt himself and couldn’t continue after the third set.
The Most Heartbreaking Moment
But the retirement that really broke tennis fans’ hearts came at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
Dimitrov was facing Jannik Sinner, the ATP World No. 1, in the fourth round. The whole tennis world was watching.
And Dimitrov was absolutely stunning. He won the first two sets 6-3, 7-5, looking like he might pull off the upset of the tournament.
Then disaster struck in the middle of the third set. Despite leading by two sets to zero – basically one set away from beating the world’s best player – Dimitrov had to retire due to injury.
It’s hard to imagine a more crushing way to end such a promising match.
The Recovery Struggle
Since that Wimbledon heartbreak, Dimitrov has been working hard to get back on court. But the injuries just keep coming.
He was forced to retire from both the Canadian Open in Toronto and the Cincinnati Open. Those are both ATP Masters 1000 events – the biggest tournaments outside of Grand Slams.
With the US Open starting on August 24th, there was hope Dimitrov might recover in time. But his body isn’t ready yet.
Georgi Stoimenov, Dimitrov’s manager, confirmed to Tennis Kafe that the current ATP World No. 20 won’t be competing at this year’s US Open.
Looking Ahead to Asia
Instead, Dimitrov is targeting a comeback during the Asian Swing. That’s a series of tournaments that happen in Asia every fall.
The first events start on September 17th in Chengdu and Hangzhou. Both are ATP 250 tournaments – smaller events that might be perfect for easing back into competition.
After that, he’ll have some bigger options. There’s an ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo starting September 24th, or one in Beijing that starts a day later.
The Asian Swing wraps up with the Shanghai Masters, one of the sport’s biggest events outside the Grand Slams.
Rankings Reality
All these withdrawals are going to hurt Dimitrov in the rankings too. He’s currently sitting at No. 20 in the world, but that’s going to drop.
When he does come back, he won’t be ranked higher than 24th. Depending on how things go, he could even fall out of the Top 30 entirely.
For a player who’s been a consistent top-20 presence for years, that’s got to sting almost as much as the physical injuries.
The tennis world is really hoping Dimitrov can get healthy and return to the form that made him one of the sport’s most exciting players. But right now, it’s all about taking the time his body needs to heal properly.
