Felix Auger-Aliassime has announced his withdrawal from the 2024 Paris Masters, in news that might come as a relief to Jannik Sinner.
The 2024 Paris Masters is the final ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season, and several players will try to boost their chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals by going far in the French capital.
Daniil Medvedev became the fourth man to qualify for the year-end tournament, joining Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, and Carlos Alcaraz, who had secured their spots earlier in the season.
Novak Djokovic is currently No. 6 in the race to qualify for the eight-man event in Turin, but the Serbian put his chances at risk by withdrawing from the Paris Masters despite being the defending champion.
Even if Djokovic qualifies, it is uncertain whether he will compete at the ATP Finals. Roger Federer's former coach, Ivan Ljubicic, does not think the 24-time Grand Slam champion intends to play at the tournament.
Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Tommy Paul, Grigor Dimitrov, and Stefanos Tsitsipas are the other men hoping to make it to Turin, although Fritz will likely make it at No. 5.
Although he did not have any chance of qualifying for the ATP Finals, Sebastian Korda's withdrawal was another loss for the Paris Masters. The American is continuing his recovery from elbow surgery.
Unfortunately, Auger-Aliassime's withdrawal dealt the tournament another blow. At his best, the Canadian is one of the most dangerous indoor hardcourt players in the world.
That is demonstrated by all five of Auger-Aliassime's ATP titles coming on indoor hardcourts. This includes winning consecutive titles at the Swiss Indoors in 2022 and 2023 before Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard ended his run last week.
The tournament held in Basel is also where Auger-Aliassime sustained an injury, which has ruled him out of the Paris Masters. He explained the decision in a post on social media.
"I tried to give myself every last opportunity to be fit to play in Paris but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be this year. After experiencing some pain in my back during Basel, I did some testing and attempts to practice before concluding that I wouldn’t be ready to compete in Paris at the level I’d hope for."
"That being said, it’s a bittersweet ending to the season and I’m going to do everything in my power to recoup mentally and physically for a strong start in 2025 We keep going. Thank you as always for all of your kind words and support."
Auger-Aliassime was set to compete against Ben Shelton in the opening round of the Paris Masters. The winner of that match would have played the No. 1 Sinner, who will receive a bye into the next round.
The Italian is probably relieved that Auger-Aliassime is out of the draw. He will be replaced by a lucky loser, meaning the probability of Shelton facing Sinner in the second round of the Paris Masters looks high at this stage.