Tennis: Alexander Zverev, American Reilly Opelka withdrawal from U.S. Open

Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Alexander Zverev, the No. 2 men's tennis player in the world, and American Reilly Opelka withdrew from the 2022 U.S. Open, tournament officials announced Monday.

Zverev withdrew due to the right ankle injury he sustained in the semifinals of the 2022 French Open. The German tennis star underwent surgery on the ankle in June and missed Wimbledon later that month.

The U.S. Open did not state a reason for Opelka's exit. The American is the No. 28 player in the ATP rankings. American Stefan Kozlov will replace Zverev in the main draw. American Jack Sock will replace Opelka.

The U.S. Open will run from Monday through Sept. 11 in Flushing, N.Y. Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 1 player in the world, is the defending men's singles champion. No. 11 Emma Raducanu of England won the 2021 women's singles title in Flushing.

Medvedev is the top seed in the men's singles circuit this year at the hard-court Grand Slam. Rafael Nadal of Spain, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, Casper Ruud of Norway and Carlos Alcaraz of Spain will be among the other Top 5 seeds.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Andrey Rublev of Russia, Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, Jannik Sinner of Italy and Cameron Norrie of England will be among the other Top 10 seeds.

Iga Swiatek of Poland, Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, Maria Sakkari of Greece, Paula Badosa of Spain and Ons Jabeur of Tunisia are among the top players on the women's singles entry list for the U.S. Open.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, Americans Jessica Pegula and Danielle Collins, Garbine Muguruza of Spain and Raducanu are among the other Top 10 women on the entry list.

The draw for the U.S. Open will be held Thursday. The winners from the respective men's and women's singles circuits will receive $2.6 million apiece.