Many tennis players have bowed out of the Canadian Open 2024 after an intense Olympic campaign. The list includes some of the best players in the world, which can have a huge impact on the intensity and quality of tennis to be played at the tournament.
Players like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jasmine Paolini among others, have decided not to take part in the ATP tournament. While the men will be playing in Montreal, the women’s competition will be held in Toronto.
Almost all players had back-to-back matches, without even a day’s gap. Some even participated in more than one event, which added to their workload.
Let’s have a look at the top 5 players to miss out on the Canadian Open:
Novak Djokovic
Djokovic was was finally able to complete his Career Golden Slam by clinching the gold medal in Paris for the first time in his career. However, it was quite a draining tournament for the Serb who came to Roland Garros immediately after competing in the Wimbledon final.
With an additional challenge of having a knee injury, the Serb has to give his body some rest before making an appearance in the United States. His next tournament is expected to be the Cincinnati Open 2024, where he is to defend his title from last year.
Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz too has had quite a busy few months as the 21-year-old played Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Olympics back-to-back. In fact, the Spaniard faced niggles especially at the French Open and Olympics, which is a worrying sign.
As a result, Alcaraz will not play at the Canadian Open and like Djokovic, could aim to make it to the Cincinnati Open 2024.
Rafael Nadal
Although Nadal returned to playing professional tennis in 2024, things have not gone too well for the Spanish legend. He was expecting good showings at the French Open and Olympics, but they ended in early exits on his beloved surface.
At 38, Nadal is not getting any younger and his best days are now surely behind him. Even as he did put in his name in the entries list for the US Open, the Spaniard recently claimed in an Olympics post-match interview that it seems difficult for him to make it to Flushing Meadows.
Transitioning from clay to hard will be nearly impossible for Nadal, which is why he would most probably skip the North American swing altogether and travel straight to Germany for the Laver Cup in mid-September 2024.
Interestingly though, Nadal’s record of being the oldest player in history to win the Canadian Open (which was in 2019 at the age of 33) is set to remain intact for another year.
Jasmine Paolini
The Italian tennis star had a very successful Olympics campaign along with her partner Sara Errani, as they went on to win the gold medal at the women’s doubles event. Having participated in the women’s singles event as well, Paolini would be exhausted and has to rest her body well now.
After consecutively reaching the finals of the French Open, Wimbledon and then Olympics, she would set her sights probably at the Cincinnati Open next and then the US Open.
Danielle Collins
The American star has an important home Grand Slam coming up and it is set to be her last big tournament before she retires. So she would love to bow out with a bang.
Collins has played back-to-back tournaments in the leadup to the Olympics and even though she didn’t enjoy deeper runs than she would have liked, her pre-existing health condition means that she too needs rest.
As a result, the Canadian Open 2024 in Toronto is out of question for her. But that means that Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula now stand a better chance to clinch the title amongst American women at the WTA 1000 event.
Despite these withdrawals, Canada will see some top players across men and women such as Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa participating in it. A good performance in this competition would go a long way in helping them prepare for the US Open in late August.
