Canadian Open suffers another top-20 withdrawal after Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz exits

A third player in the ATP's top 20 has withdrawn from the Canadian Open after Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the tournament.

Alcaraz's withdrawal from the Masters event was forced as he continues to recover from the wrist injury he suffered at the Barcelona Open in April.

The 23-year-old, who chose to pull out of last year's tournament, is on course to make his return at the Cincinnati Open on August 13.

As for back-to-back Wimbledon champion Sinner, there was no surprise that he dropped out of the event, as he needed rest and time to recover from a demanding schedule ahead of the Cincinnati Masters.

"After carefully considering all the factors together with ​my team, we have made the ​difficult decision to withdraw from Montreal,” the five-time Grand Slam winner said on July 24.

"It is never ‌easy ⁠to miss such an important event, but we believe this is the right decision to prioritise my health. I’m disappointed not to ​be there, ​but I ⁠look forward to returning to Montreal in the future."

It's common for the top-seeded players to pull out of the Masters 1000 event immediately after Wimbledon.

Novak Djokovic notoriously skips the action in Montreal, having not featured since 2018, and the tournament director, Valerie Tetreault, expressed disappointment that no multiple Grand Slam winner will participate.

"We are obviously very disappointed that Jannik ‌and Novak won't be joining us in Montreal this year, especially after they also withdrew from last year's tournament in Toronto," Tetreault said.

"We respect their decisions and understand that, with such a demanding schedule, ‌players' health must remain the priority."

Alcaraz, Sinner and Djokovic have since been joined by world No.11 Alexander Bublik, who confirmed that he won't feature at the event because it's his son's birthday.

"For the past four years, yes. It’s my son’s birthday, and I don’t believe the Masters in Cincinnati is worth missing such important moments,” Bublik said when explaining his decision.

Who else has withdrawn from the Canadian Open?

Bublik is likely to be next in action at the US Open, beginning on August 25, and the Russian-born star has a poor record.

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A fourth-round last year is by far his best, as he often suffers early exits at Flushing Meadows.

The 29-year-old is arguably the fourth biggest omission from the men's draw of the Canada Open, joining six other ATP stars.

• Carlos Alcaraz
• Jannik Sinner
• Novak Djokovic
• Tomas Machac
• Sebastian Korda
• Alexander Bublik
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

On the women's side, meanwhile, Wimbledon finalist Karolina Muchova confirmed she won't play after undergoing minor surgery following her exploits on the grass.

Muchova is joined by 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu, as well as Victoria Mboko and Hailey Baptiste, who suffered serious knee injuries earlier this season.

WTA stars who have pulled out of the Canadian Open

• Karolina Muchova
• Victoria Mboko
• Hailey Baptiste
• Emma Raducanu
• Jasmine Paolini
• Dayana Yastremska
• Petra Marčinko

Mboko's withdrawal, in particular, is pretty saddening, as this is one of her home events and she announced herself to the world by winning the tournament in 2025.