Alex de Minaur’s summer of tennis is under a cloud after the Australian No.1 gave a concerning update on his hip injury in Hong Kong.
The 26-year-old announced on Instagram on Monday that he would not be defending his Ultimate Tennis Showdown at Kai Tak Sports Park.
The world No.7 then spoke with the Tennis Majors website to elaborate on his issues, in comments that will raise alarm bells for his many fans.
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Alex De Minaur of Australia reacts during the match against Nuno Borges of Portugal. Getty
De Minaur said he was battling “a lot of pain” and was set for scans to determine the path forward.
“It’s a hip injury, the one I sustained last year after Wimbledon which sidelined me for a long time so it is an area of concern,” he said.
“So this is something that I can’t take any chances with. Last year it sidelined me for almost three or four months, and I played the rest of the year with pain. Now, it’s warning signs, I need to make sure everything is good. I don’t want to have the same problem as last year. I need to be smart and look after the body.”
De Minaur lost to Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters on Friday.
But he said he had re-aggravated the injury before then at the China Open in Beijing, where he lost to Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.
De Minaur revealed he needed painkillers to play in Shanghai.
Alex De Minaur of Australia reacts during the match against Daniil Medvedev. Getty
“I need to go get a scan,” he said.
“I need to see what the issue is, why I’m still getting pain and then once we kind of sit down with the team, the doctor, the medical team, we can assess what the game plan will be for the rest of the year, right?
“So there’s a lot of question marks, a lot of uncertainty, so I’ve got to kind of wait and see, play the waiting game.”
The next grand slam is the Australian Open in Melbourne, with the main draw starting on January 18.
De Minaur hoped he would be cleared to play at the ATP Finals, which start in Italy on November 9.
Australia’s No.1 women’s player, Daria Kasatkina has ended the season early for the sake of her mental wellbeing after hitting “breaking point” on tour.