Last-minute loss at the US Open: a seed falls out of the tournament a few hours before the draw

He US Open 2026 He will experience his first big date this Thursday (6 p.m. Spanish time): the draw for individual paintings. The favorites will know their way in an event that will feature the last minute loss of one of those who was going to be seeded.

We refer to French Ugo Humbertnumber 30 in the world, who in the last few hours announced his resignation due to a back injury.

“I have back discomfort again and I cannot compete in the last Grand Slam of the year“Humbert wrote on his Instagram account.

The 28-year-old, who was the 27th seed for this new edition, was eliminated in the first round last year, after losing to Australian Adam Walton in four sets: 6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7 and 6-1.

The Frenchman had just suffered two consecutive eliminations in the Masters 1000 in Montreal and Cincinnati.

His place in the draw will be occupied by a ‘lucky loser’ (eliminated in the last round of the qualifying round), while His top seed position will be for the Peruvian Ignacio Buse.

One of the great attractions of the tournament is the return of Carlos Alcaraz. The Murcian will seek to revalidate the title he won last year, although this time he does not start as the top favorite after a long inactivity of more than four months due to the wrist injury he suffered during the last Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell-Trofeo Conde de Godó.

Second seed, Alcaraz needs a friendly draw in its first rounds to get into the rhythm of the competition and face the second week with the greatest possible guarantees. To do this, he must avoid very tough bones to crack on the fast track such as Matteo Berrettini, Hubert Hurkacz, Karen Khachanov, Denis Shapovalov or his executioner in the year 2024, Botic Van de Zandschulp.

In the third round it would be time to start facing off with seeds located between 25th and 32nd, with Alejandro Tabilo, Arthur Rinderknech and Alexander Blockx as the most prominent names, while in the second round they could meet players of the stature of Lorenzo Musetti, Learner Tien or Brandon Nakashima and in the quarterfinals with Flavio Cobolli, Alex de Miñaur, Daniil Medvedev or Ben Shelton. All this before a hypothetical semifinals against Novak Djokovic or Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Nor will Rafa Jódar’s path be free of obstacles, who arrives in New York in top form after a great American tour in which he reached the final in Washington and the semifinals in Montreal.

The man from Madrid, who will start as seed number 12, could meet in the third round with Brandon Nakashima, Jakub Mensik, Jiri Lehecka or Tommy Paul, among others, and in the round of 16 with a rival from the top 10. Without a doubt, a litmus test for the great sensation of the season, who aspires to make history and qualify for the ATP Finals in his first year as a professional.

In the absence of the preliminary phase being completed this Thursday, Dani Mérida, Jaume Munar, Martín Landaluce and Pablo Carreño will be the other Spanish representatives in the final draw of a tournament that is more open than ever and in which Alexander Zverev will start as the first seed.