Milos Raonic last contested a match on tour at the 2017 Rogers Cup in Montreal, a match that he lost to Adrian Mannarino. A short time after that loss, in an August 14th interview that the ATP published to their YouTube account, Raonic claimed in Cincinnati that he had a wrist injury that was a "day-by-day thing." A short time later he would pull out of the Western & Southern Open and it appears that having more than two weeks off ahead of the start of the 2017 Us Open hasn't healed his wrist in time. His "day-by-day" wrist injury seems to be at least week-by-week now as he confirmed his withdrawal from the final tennis Grand Slam of the season.

Raonic's statements regarding missing New York

"I have tried everything in my power to rehabilitate this injury in time for the US Open in order to play an event that is so truly special to me," Raonic said (qtd. at USOpen.org/August 24th). "However, the pain is too great and, in consultation with my doctors, I am left with no option but to withdraw from the event."

Disappointing Grand Slam season over

The withdrawal from the 2017 US Open concludes what was a disappointing Grand Slam season for Raonic. He went out in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to start the season a year after pushing Andy Murray to five sets in the semifinals. Raonic went out in the fourth round of Roland Garros despite being seeded 5th in the tournament.

At Wimbledon he fell two rounds earlier than his previous season, losing to Roger Federer in the quarters after making the 2016 final.

In regular tour events this season, Raonic has enjoyed only mixed success. He has no titles on the year and he had to withdraw from an event ahead of a final earlier this season, handing the title to Jack Sock uncontested.

The often-injured player's withdrawal from the US Open is perhaps the least surprising development among all the recent withdrawals, given Raonic's history.

Despite his stated affection for the tournament, Raonic has never been much of a factor at the US Open over his career. He has a trio of fourth-round appearances in his career at the venue and often goes out earlier than that.

Raonic has certainly taken a step backward in 2017 with injuries central to his decline. He may still contest tournaments in Paris and Shanghai before the end of the season, but one would think that he is improbable for London's tour finals as his ranking can only drift following the US Open withdrawal. He is among other high-ranked players that will miss the tournament, namely Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, and Novak Djokovic.
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