Matteo Berrettini and Alexander Bublik Withdraw From 2025 Cincinnati Open

The 2025 Cincinnati Open does not start until August 7th, but some notable withdrawals have already occurred.

Organizers of the event in Ohio undoubtedly hope fewer ATP players will withdraw than at the 2025 Canadian Open. Several high-profile stars removing themselves from the entry list devalued the men's singles in Toronto.

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic all elected not to play in Canada. They are the three most significant stars in the men's game right now, and losing them reduced interest and buzz around the event.

Matteo Berrettini and Grigor Dimitrov's withdrawals followed shortly afterward. In total, 18 men withdrew from the Canadian Open, and there has been a sense of disappointment among many fans for that reason.

That number of players choosing not to compete at the Cincinnati Open is unlikely. The Canadian Open's position in the calendar, less than two weeks after the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, influenced many players' decision not to compete.

Berrettini's absence from the ATP Tour will continue at the Cincinnati Open. He sustained a right oblique injury he sustained at the 2025 Italian Open in Rome against Casper Ruud, leading to his retirement from the match.

The 29-year-old missed the 2025 French Open at Roland Garros with that problem. He returned at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, but did not look entirely comfortable in a five-set loss in the opening round.

Unfortunately, Berrettini has not been able to recover swiftly since. The 2021 Wimbledon runner-up could not defend the titles he won last year at the Swiss Open in Gstaad and the Kitzbuhel Open.

Berrettini will now officially miss both 1000-level tournaments after withdrawing from the Cincinnati Open. Although he did not officially give any reason for that move, it is almost certainly because of the same injury.

Alexander Bublik will also be absent from the Cincinnati Open. Although he has not provided an official reason for his absence, his last appearance at the event was in 2021, when he reached the second round.

Bublik's son, Vasily, was born on August 16th, 2022. That date is always very likely to coincide with Vasily's birthday, even more so now since this year's Cincinnati Open will be the first to last 12 days instead of 7.

It would be very surprising if Bublik plays in Cincinnati again before he retires. The Kazakhstani does not seem to have any future plans to compete there again because he wants to celebrate with his son.

Jenson Brooksby was the third player to withdraw from the Cincinnati Open. The American is known for being suspended from professional tennis after missing too many doping tests, which got him in trouble.

There was some controversy about that since Brooksby believes his autism contributed to that situation. Thankfully, Brooksby returned and has managed some impressive results since returning to the ATP Tour.

The 24-year-old's unique style of tennis will be missed in Cincinnati. Hopefully, he will return soon and produce the entertaining brand that entertains many fans worldwide throughout the season.