Grigor Dimitrov was having a great 2024 season but the Bulgarian won’t be playing at the 2024 Citi Open in Washington due to an injury picked up at Wimbledon.
Dimitrov has had a fascinating career as he emerged as a super-talented player whom many considered a real threat to disrupt the Big Three hegemony. He was popularly nicknamed Baby Federer due to his playstyle, something which he had grown to hate over the years.
He had a good career, peaking at number three in the ATP Rankings, but he has been enjoying a second youth in the past year. He has played some of the most consistent tennis in that period, and he has also been healthy, which hasn’t always been the case.
Last year’s 46 wins were the most he has had since 2017, and he was certainly on pace to win the same number of matches this year. He currently stands at 32, but he is also dealing with an injury that will prevent him from playing at the Citi Open.
His last event was the Wimbledon Championships, where he won three matches comfortably to make the fourth round. However, in that match against Daniil Medvedev, he hurt his leg.
The injury was grave enough that it didn’t allow him to finish the match, as he retired in the opening set at 5-3 for the Russian. Following the injury, Dimitrov took to social media to provide an injury update, noting that he had an abductor tear in his left leg.
The injury is not a minor one and doesn’t heal that quickly, even though the timetable largely depends on the severity of the tear. Dimitrov didn’t provide information on the nature of the tear in the update, but he did note that he was going to miss some time.
“Hi, everyone. I wanted to give a little update on my end. After some tests and scans, my doctor informed me that I have an abductor tear in my left leg. I am going to need to take a little time off, but I am already starting rehab. Can’t thank you all enough for the nice notes of support over the past weeks. Looking forward to getting back out there!”
Now we know that he won’t be playing at the Citi Open in Washington, which starts on July 29th, and obviously, he won’t be playing at the Olympics either. However, he didn’t qualify for the Olympics anyway due to not having played in the Davis Cup, which is one of the requirements.
It’s an unfortunate development for the 33-year-old because he was on pace to have a really strong year and was in serious contention to possibly finish the year in the Top 10, where he recently returned, and possibly fight for a spot at the ATP Finals.
This injury won’t heal quickly, and the Citi Open withdrawal is likely not his last. The hope is that he will be ready for the US Open. For now, he didn’t withdraw from any of the events following the Citi Open.
