Tennis: Alcaraz misses Toronto - Zverev is favorite

Toronto. Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz will also not compete in the Masters tournament in Toronto, Canada. The five-time Grand Slam winner announced this via social media. World number one Jannik Sinner, record Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, and world number five Jack Draper had already officially withdrawn from the hard-court tournament from July 27 to August 7.

"After many weeks of continuous competition without breaks, I cannot play in Toronto this year. I have slight muscle problems and need to recover physically and mentally for what comes next," Alcaraz said. "I am very sorry for the tournament and my fans in Canada. See you next year."

This further increases Alexander Zverev's chances of winning the tournament. The world number three is now the top seed in the field. For him, the tournament in the 1000-player category, which in tennis is surpassed only by the four Grand Slam events, is intended to be a fresh start after his disappointing first-round exit at Wimbledon. Zverev recently trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca with Toni Nadal, the uncle and former coach of former Spanish star Rafael Nadal.

After his early Wimbledon exit, Zverev admitted to mental problems and announced that something needed to change within him, something that didn't necessarily have anything to do with tennis. He would be able to provide further answers at the tournament in Toronto, the Hamburg native said.

Wimbledon champion Sinner, who fell on his elbow during the grass-court classic, wanted to "recover," the organizer explained in a post on the platform X, justifying the Italian's withdrawal. The same applies to four-time tournament winner Djokovic of Serbia, who was eliminated in the semifinals at Wimbledon against Sinner and also struggled with injury there. Briton Draper is also unable to compete in Toronto due to injury.

RND/dpa