Tsitsipas casts doubt on Indian Wells hopes with new injury withdrawal

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ hopes of playing the upcoming Indian Wells Masters could be in doubt as the world No 3 withdrew from next week’s Acapulco Open citing an injury. The Greek star is coming off an impressive start to the season after reaching the Australian Open final but revealed that he had sustained a problem shortly after.

Tsitsipas’ strong start to the season has been derailed as the 24-year-old revealed he had picked up a shoulder injury shortly after his run to a second career Grand Slam final at the Australian Open. The world No 3 has now pulled out of next week’s ATP 500 in Acapulco, throwing his hopes of playing the upcoming Masters in Indian Wells and Miami into doubt.

The nine-time title winner would have been one of the big favourites at the first two Masters 1000 tournaments of the season if Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal end up unable to play, with the former currently trying to receive an exemption to enter the country unvaccinated while the latter is recovering from his own injury. Tsitsipas shared the news in a statement on his Instagram story on Wednesday, and did not indicate how long he would be out for.

“It is with great disappointment that I must announce my withdrawal from the 2023 Abierto Mexicano de Tennis in Acapulco die to a shoulder injury I sustained after the Australian Open,” the Greek star wrote. “Mexico is one of my favourite destinations in the world, and I have always cherished the opportunity to compete in this prestigious tournament.”

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Thanking fans in Mexico for their support, Tsitsipas then continued: “Although this setback is disappointing, I am choosing to focus on the positives. I will use this time to rest, recover, and come back stronger than ever. I will continue to work hard and strive towards my goals, and I am confident that I will have many more opportunities to compete in Mexico in the future.”

The Indian Wells Masters is set to get underway from Wednesday 8th March – just days after the conclusion of the Acapulco Open – and it remains to be seen whether the first 1000-point event of the season comes too soon for Tsitsipas to be ready.

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Tsitsipas had already suffered a disappointing result in his first tournament since the Aussie Open in Rotterdam last week, where he was ousted by Jannik Sinner in the round-of-16. It was the biggest win of the Italian’s career, marking his first over a top-three opponent. 

After stunning last year’s Rotterdam finalist 6-3 6-4, Sinner told the ATP: “It means a lot obviously. A lot of work behind. I’m very happy. I played some good tennis, very focused today. Hopefully I can keep it going but for sure, Stef is an incredible player. I have a lot of respect for him. He played incredible tennis this year already.”

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