Carlos Alcaraz won't make an appearance at the 2024 Canadian Open in Montreal, as he announced his withdrawal from the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
A few tournament organizers this year found themselves in a tricky spot, mostly because of an additional tournament in the calendar - the Olympic Games in Paris, running from July 27th to August 4th.
Therefore, tournaments such as the Citi Open, which runs from July 27th to August 4th, and the upcoming Canadian Open in Montreal, which runs from August 6th to 12th, but on the other side of the world and on a different surface, knew that they might expect more withdrawals than usual.
Alcaraz made it to the medal rounds at the Paris Olympics, which meant that he would be staying in the French capital until the last days of the competition, making it almost impossible for him to move to Canada after the tournament.
The close proximity to the Olympic tournament is one of the main reasons why the 21-year-old was forced to withdraw from the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Canada, which means he will miss out on a chance to add to his point total in the ATP Rankings.
On the other hand, he will have a chance to add to his national legacy, which is certainly more valuable. In a statement for the Canadian Open organizers, the World No. 3 player cited fatigue as a reason for his withdrawal, as he's not only playing at Olympics, but he also previously won the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back.
"It has been a very long season for me and due to the accumulation of matches and fatigue, I will not be able to play in Montreal this year. I was really looking forward to coming back to Canada and enjoying the love of the fans. Hope to see everyone in Montreal in the years to come!"
Tournament director, Valerie Tetreault, was obviously also disappointed that the Spanish player won't be travelling to Canada. Still, the organizers in Montreal can be delighted that at least the World No. 1 player, Jannik Sinner, will compete at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, as he has been already practicing in Montreal.
"We are obviously disappointed that Carlos [Alcaraz] will not be with us this year. At 21 years of age, he already has 15 titles – four of which are at Grand Slam events. Fans were naturally eager to see him back in action at IGA Stadium, but we were also well aware that he's had a busy summer and is currently on a quest to achieve a major feat: winning consecutive French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic titles."
"He's still at the early stages of his career, so we'll definitely have the chance to see him again in the coming years. Once we've looked past our initial disappointment, we have to consider the tournament as a whole, which remains extremely competitive, with the vast majority of the world's best players in attendance."