Defending champion Stan Wawrinka has pulled out of the Japan Open Tennis Championships which begins on Monday, October 3, due to the recurrence of back injury.
The reigning US Open champion participated at the St. Petersburg Open tournament last week where he lost in the final to Alexander Zverev of Germany.
The Japan Open Tennis Championships is an ATP 500 tournament that’s staged at the same week as the ATP 500 China Open in Beijing.
Wawrinka’s absence means that hometown favorite and two-time former champion Kei Nishikori becomes the event’s top seed followed by Gael Monfils and Tomas Berdych.
