Canadian Open suffers another major blow following Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz withdrawals

The 2024 Canadian Open has been hit with another big-name withdrawal as world No 1 Iga Swiatek has become the latest leading player to pull out of the event. 

The five-time Grand Slam champion’s decision came after she won the bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris on Friday.

“I’m sorry to announce that due to overall fatigue caused by the last couple of weeks on the court I need to withdraw from the tournament in Toronto,” Swiatek said in a news release by Tennis Canada.

“Due to an intense tennis schedule with the Olympics taking place this year and changing surfaces, I need more time to rest and recover in order to be ready to play the US swing in good health and at my best possible level.”

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World No 10 and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, who reached the quarter-finals at the Olympics in singles and doubles, has also pulled out.

The WTA and ATP 1000 tournaments in Canada, which will be held in Toronto and Montreal respectively this year, will run from August 6-12.

This leaves players who have competed on the clay of Stade Roland Garros at the Paris Olympics with a very short turnaround before the North American hard-court event.

Following Swiatek and Krejcikova’s withdrawals, there are now six top 10 players who will miss the WTA tournament in Toronto.

Elena Rybakina, Jasmine Paolini, Danielle Collins and Maria Sakkari will also be absent. Rybakina missed the Olympics due to acute bronchitis and has pulled out of Toronto with the same issue, while the latter trio have all featured in Paris.

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will also miss the Canadian Open

There have been four top 10 players to withdraw from the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal, with Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz the most notable.

Djokovic and Alcaraz — the ATP world No 2 and 3 respectively — are set to face off in the gold medal match at the Olympics on Sunday, just two days before play will begin in Canada.

Musetti, meanwhile, was beaten by Djokovic in the semi-finals in Paris and will play Felix Auger-Aliassime in the bronze medal match today (Saturday).

Alex de Minaur is the other man who has pulled out, with the world No 6 still not having recovered from the hip injury he suffered at Wimbledon that also forced him out of the Olympics.

World No 1 Jannik Sinner will compete in Montreal and has a great opportunity to benefit from the absence of his two main rivals as he aims to defend his Canadian Open title. The Italian did not play the Olympics due to tonsillitis.

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