A couple of days after parting ways with Jamie Delgado, world no. 28 Grigor Dimitrov withdrew from the Shanghai Masters, extending his break from tennis. The 34-year-old has been sidelined his Wimbledon.
He is still recovering from the pectoral muscle injury sustained during the heartbreaking Wimbledon clash against world no. 1 Jannik Sinner. Instead of stunning the world's best player, the Bulgarian experienced an injury that has ruined his season.
While the initial predictions were positive, Grigor has yet to return to action. In August, he withdrew from the US Open, ending his brilliant streak of 58 consecutive appearances in the main draws at Majors.
Dimitrov stopped the clock on Centre Court against Sinner, taking the opening two sets and holding in the third for 2-2. However, he grabbed his shoulder after landing an ace and started crying.
He left the court for a medical timeout but only to confirm an inevitable, returning to officially retire and experiencing one of the most heartbreaking moments of his career.
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As was expected, Grigor skipped Toronto and Cincinnati, hoping to return to action at the US Open. However, he had to skip his first Major since 2010, failing to seek Roger Federer's record of 65 consecutive appearances on the most notable scene.
The Bulgarian does not want to rush anything after a massive setback. He wants to leave an injury behind and return at his best, even at the beginning of 2026.
Dimitrov has failed to complete a match at five Major tournaments in a row, collecting a negative record and looking eager to raise his physical level during the break and avoid such things in the future.
Grigor is 12-8 at the Shanghai Masters. He lost the quarter-final to Rafael Nadal in 2017 and played in the semi-final two years ago, beating Carlos Alcaraz before falling to Andrey Rublev.
