Since Roger Federer withdrew from Cincinnati with a back injury, the tennis world has been anxiously waiting for further updates on his fitness and schedule for the rest of the season.

His original schedule has him slated to play the US Open next, followed by the Laver Cup, Shanghai and Basel before the World Tour Finals, for which he has already qualified. However, in the wake of his loss to Alexander Zverev in the Montreal final where he was clearly struggling physically, followed by his subsequent withdrawal from Cincinnati, tennis fans have been worried about how much impact the injury will have on the rest of his season.

A sports journalist from China with close contact with the tournament director of the Shanghai Masters 1000 might have good news for all of us. Apparently he’s been told that the officials of the Shanghai Masters have directly contacted Federer’s team. They were told that that Roger’s back problem isn’t serious and he’s doing well and will be fit for the US Open.

They were also told that Federer will appear for the US Open kids’ day and maintain an unchanged schedule thereafter.

Should Federer be fit, he will be one of the favourites to lift the US Open title, a potential 20th Grand Slam title. He is also currently involved in a tight battle with Rafael Nadal for the No. 1 ranking. Nadal is guaranteed to take over the top spot from Andy Murray when the updated rankings are released coming Monday.