Carlos Alcaraz becomes latest leading player to withdraw from Canadian Open

Carlos Alcaraz has become the latest in a series of leading men’s players to withdraw from the Canadian Open as the world No 2 joined new Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper on the sidelines.

The players are skipping the Toronto tournament, due to begin on Saturday, to rest and recover from injury before the final grand slam of the season, the US Open in New York starting on 25 August.

Alcaraz, who lost to Sinner in Wimbledon singles final nine days ago, apologised to fans via X: “I will not be able to play in Toronto this year, I have small muscles issues and I need to recover physically and mentally for what comes next.To the tournament and to my fans in Canada I am very sorry, I will see you next year!”

Draper revealed on X that he would also miss the Cincinnati Open starting 5 August. “After Wimbledon I picked up an injury in my left arm, nothing serious, but I have to make sure it recovers fully for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to compete in Toronto and Cincinnati … see you in NYC!”

Sinner is looks to protect his elbow, following a tumble in his fourth-round match against Grigor Dmitrov at Wimbledon. Djokovic also suffered niggling injuries throughout his run at the tournament, with a groin problem ultimately being the main reason he will be absent from Toronto.

Alexander Zverev, the world No 3, and Taylor Fritz, ranked No 4, are likely to be the top seeds in Toronto.

Many players have spoken out against the scheduling on both the ATP and WTA tours. In March the Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA), which was co-founded by Djokovic, began legal action against tennis’ governing bodies in the US, the UK and EU, in what they described as “on behalf of the entire player population”.

On 26 June the PTPA submitted an amended complaint, dropping the ITF and ITIA from the lawsuit, focussing solely on the ATP and WTA tours, despite the PTPA actively negotiating with all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Meanwhile Australian Nick Kyrgios came through his first match since March, and just his sixth this year, alongside French veteran Gaël Monfils in the men’s doubles at the DC Open. They lost 2-6, 2-6 to Édouard Roger-Vasselin and Hugo Nys.