The tennis season, somewhat to the detriment of the players themselves, never truly stops between January and November. Everyone will deal with some kind of ailment, whether minor or not. The body can only take so much punishment running on courts for 11 months a season.
This means that players will need to decide which tournaments to play to save themselves for the majors and others that maybe they have a chance to win. Carlos Alcaraz, interestingly enough, can win on any surface, but he has skipped the Canadian Open in each of the last two years. That means 2026, when he is dealing with a wrist injury.
The hope is that he will participate in the Cincinnati Masters the following week, but when the Canadian Masters begins on August 1 and ends on August 13, the Spaniard won't be involved. Neither will rising Canadian star Victoria Mboko, who won the event last year.
Canadian Open 2026 withdrawals continue to grow
Mboko was injured in her singles match at the HSBC Championships following a doubles match she played with Serena Williams in the icon's return to tennis. One had nothing to do with the other, but the coincidence cannot be overlooked and mars Williams' return and Mboko's hopes for Wimbledon.
Emma Raducanu wasn't expected to compete in Toronto (the ATP side of the Canadian Open will happen in Montreal in 2026, as each year rotates with the men's and women's events between the cities) due to a stress fracture in her leg, and she could miss the rest of the year. There is no firm timeline for her return, so she could return for the US Open, the major she won in 2021.
2026 Wimbledon finalist Karolina Muchova needed minor surgery after the grass-court major and isn't yet ready to return. The implication from her camp is that she shouldn't miss much time, so she could also return by the time the US Open begins at the end of August.
The list of withdrawals from the Canadian Open is likely to grow a bit, though the tournament is a Masters event, so points are there to be earned. Mboko, of course, won on the women's side in 2025, but Ben Shelton won on the men's side. That remains the American's only Masters or major victory, but he shouldn't be dismissed as the winner again this year.
WTA withdrawals from the Canadian Open:
- Karolina Muchova (No. 6)
- Victoria Mboko (No. 12)
- Jasmine Paolini (No. 15)
- Hailey Baptiste (No. 33)
- Emma Raducanu (No. 38)
- Dayana Yastremska (No. 74)
ATP withdrawals from the Canadian Open:
- Carlos Alcaraz (No. 3)
- Jesper de Jong (No. 105; will be replaced by Jan-Lennard Struff)
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