Roger Federer pulls out of Canada and Cincinnati Masters, doubts arise over his US Open participation

Roger Federer has officially pulled out of the National Bank Open (Canada) as well as the Cincinnati Masters. He has cited his long-standing knee injury, which resurfaced during Wimbledon, as the reason for his withdrawal.

Given that Federer will miss both of the preparatory Masters 1000 events during the North American hardcourt series, it is uncertain whether he will play the US Open. The Swiss will not have much hardcourt preparation heading into the New York Slam, so even if he does play he will be extremely rusty.

Roger Federer usually likes to have a tune-up event or two before a Slam, and this year that would be of special importance since he hasn't played on hardcourt in more than three months.

Seven-time champion Roger Federer has withdrawn from the 2021 tournament due to a knee injury. Get well soon, Roger ❤️ #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/vpqKwqXZJA

— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 5, 2021

The soon-to-be 40-year-old is a seven-time champion at Cincinnati and a two-time winner at Toronto. Federer played the Cincinnati Masters in 2019, where he was ousted in the third round by Andrey Rublev.

The Swiss' last appearance at Canada came in 2017, when he finished as the runner-up to Alexander Zverev.

Since Federer is not defending a lot of points at Cincinnati and Toronto, his ranking will not be affected much by his withdrawal. This is despite the recent changes to the ranking system introduced by the ATP.

Roger Federer, however, is defending a chunk of points from his 2019 US Open campaign. The 20-time Slam champion reached the quarterfinals in New York in his last appearance, where he lost to Grigor Dimitrov despite leading by two sets to one.

Roger Federer seemingly hurt his knee during his Wimbledon loss to Hubert Hurkacz

Roger Federer after losing to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon

Roger Federer lost his footing during the second-set tiebreaker against Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. He never seemed to recover from that, moving gingerly to the point of being almost stationary as he succumbed to a 6-0 loss in the third set.

A few days after that the 39-year-old pulled out of the Olympics, citing a "setback" on his injured knee. But not many were surprised by that decision, given that the Swiss had already expressed reservations about traveling to Tokyo amid the pandemic.

That said, Roger Federer's did give rise to renewed speculation about the condition of his knee. The Swiss had undergone a couple of knee surgeries in 2020, forcing him to miss more than a year of competitive action.

Roger Federer's decision to pull out of the Canada and Cincinnati Masters will certainly raise even more questions about his long-term future in the sport. If he goes on to withdraw from the US Open too, the specter of retirement will be stronger than ever.

Roger Federer will miss @NBOToronto & @CincyTennis due to a knee injury.

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 5, 2021

Meanwhile, Federer faithfuls are hoping that the Swiss does at the very least play the Laver Cup, a tournament that is easy on the body and also ranks amongst his favorites. While the US Open is scheduled to begin on 30 August, the Laver Cup is scheduled for a 24 September start.