Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur has confirmed he will return for the US Open.
The Aussie - ranked tenth in the world after an excellent 2024 season - was set to play in the Olympic Games, but was forced to pull out of the singles competition at the last minute as his hip injury continued to provide issues.
He still played doubles alongside Alexei Popryin - who took out his first ATP 1000 level tournament in Montreal last week - but they were knocked out in the first round.
It was the same injury that saw him withdraw from his quarter-final appearance against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon and has then also ruled him out of the major lead-up events to the Flushing Meadows tournament.
The Australian will still be seeded for the US Open though and took to Instagram to confirm he will be ready to go for the US Open.
“(I've) been working hard trying to recover from my injury. It's been very tough missing tournaments and (I'm) excited to say I'll be playing (at the) US Open,” he wrote.
“Thanks to all the support I've gotten – it's definitely helped me through these tough times.
“There's always light at the end of the tunnel.”
The tournament is shaping up as an opportunity for De Minaur to make his third straight grand slam quarter-final, something that hasn't been achieved by an Australian male since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004 and 2005.
There is an outside chance Australia will have three males seeded for the final grand slam of the year, with Jordan Thompson in the mix to join both de Minaur and Popyrin among the top 32 players.
The tournament starts on August 26.
