Tennis-De Minaur heads to Shanghai for scans after Beijing retirement

World number nine Alex de Minaur said he ​intends to head to Shanghai for scans ​after suffering an adductor injury ‌that ​forced him to retire from the China Open final in Beijing on Tuesday. The 27-year-old Australian was engaged in a tight battle ‌with Novak Djokovic when he suffered the injury and retired while trailing 7-6(3) 0-1 in the second set, handing the Serbian great a seventh title in the Chinese capital.

"I was feeling quite ‌good, then I felt something midway through the end of the first set. Yeah, it ‌gradually got a little worse," De Minaur told reporters. "Felt something in the adductor. I don't know what it is yet. I've got to get some more scans. My plan is to go to Shanghai and get ⁠scans."

In 2024, ​De Minaur was forced ⁠to withdraw from a Wimbledon quarter-final against Djokovic because of a hip injury and missed the singles tournament ⁠at the Paris Olympics before returning at the US Open some seven weeks later. De Minaur was scheduled ​to play next this season at the Shanghai Masters, where he reached the quarter-finals last ⁠year and which kicks off on Wednesday.

If he is able to play, the Australian number one still has ⁠a ​chance of making the eight-strong field for the ATP Finals, especially after a slot opened up when Jannik Sinner announced on Tuesday he would play no more tennis this ⁠year. De Minaur, who reached the semi-finals of the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin last year, said ⁠he had been pleased ⁠with his form in Beijing.

"Everything except for the end was really positive," he added. "There was a lot of good tennis. I played some ‌great stuff. ‌Felt amazing on the court."