Felix Auger-Aliassime shockingly withdraws from Metz, jeopardizing ATP Finals bid
NewsMonday, 03 November 2025 at 12:45
Felix Auger-Aliassime shockingly withdrew from the 2025 Moselle Open in Metz after playing the Paris Masters final.
The final weeks of the tennis season are fascinating for tennis fans. Usually, the sport is about winning matches and tournaments, but in the final weeks, a new aspect emerges. Some players might play certain events only to reach the quarter-finals or semi-finals, then withdraw.
The reason behind that is simple. They might require a certain number of points to secure their qualification at the ATP Finals. Auger-Aliassime was supposed to travel to Metz for the ATP 250 event with the same objective, but he won't compete, despite his qualification for the ATP Finals being on the line.
The Canadian is currently the eighth player in the 2025 ATP Race. Lorenzo Musetti is the player directly behind him, fighting for that last qualification spot. Musetti will need to win the 2025 Athens Open to qualify for the year-end championship.
Naturally, Auger-Aliassime also signed up for an ATP 250 event in the final week of the season, but he now withdrew. The 25-year-old announced his withdrawal after losing the Paris Masters final to Jannik Sinner, explaining that he has been playing through an injury.
"It doesn't show, but I've had physical problems. If I qualify for Torino, all the better; otherwise, bravo to Lorenzo."
Auger-Aliassime will now completely rely on Musetti's result in Athens. Novak Djokovic should be the top favorite to win the title in the Greek city, but if Musetti manages to lift the trophy, he will compete in Turin instead of Auger-Aliassime.
Felix Auger-Aliassime feels he's closing the gap to Jannik Sinner
Auger-Aliassime lost to Sinner yet again, but this time, he felt that he was closer than in some of his previous matches. Despite beating the Italian in their first two meetings, he lost to him three times in a row since Sinner's rise to the top of the tennis world.
The Canadian lost 0-6, 2-6 at the Cincinnati Open this year, and he lost in four sets at the US Open. This time, there was very little separating the two, as Sinner won 6-4, 7-6(4). Speaking after the match, Auger-Aliassime admitted that, to him, the gap is getting smaller.
"No, for me, it's not a huge gap. I'm getting closer every match we actually play one against the other. This match was more tight. At the US Open, I managed to win a set and lost the first and the fourth in a difficult way. But what we saw today was that it was close."
"Everything was on the quality of his serve, I think, the quality of his return game, as well. Hats off to him on that point. There's a part of me that says, well, there are moments where I could play better. I'm still a bit sour for some moments of the match."
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