The upcoming ATP Masters 1000 event in the California desert is facing an unexpected crisis before the main draw commences. A massive wave of unexpected withdrawals, including top players such as Holger Rune, has heavily impacted the entire tournament landscape.
This sudden player withdrawal has heavily thinned out both the main draw and the qualifying rounds of the “fifth major.”
Confirmed ATP Withdrawals from Indian Wells Masters 1000, Including Holger Rune and Others
As of now, 11 major ATP players have withdrawn from the Indian Wells Masters 1000 event. The biggest name on this list is Holger Rune, who is currently recovering from an Achilles tendon injury, which he suffered during last year’s Stockholm Open semifinal. Due to the recent tensions in the Middle East, the world No. 17 is currently stuck in Qatar, where he was undergoing rehabilitation.
A very recent name is that of the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor. The world No. 25 was enjoying an excellent week at the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai, but he injured himself during his winning semifinal match against Andrey Rublev. Griekspoor suffered a hamstring tear, forcing him to withdraw from the Dubai final against Daniil Medvedev and keeping him out of California entirely.
Czech star Tomáš Macháč has been dealing with a knee injury since late last year. Despite his struggles, the world No. 32 stepped foot on court in Doha against Jannik Sinner in losing efforts and immediately took a rest to heal, adding another major name to the list of Indian Wells withdrawals.
The Spanish star Jaume Munar is another ATP star to drop out of the tournament. He announced that he is suffering from a right-arm injury that may keep him off the tour indefinitely, and that he will skip the Sunshine Doubles completely. Additionally, Alexandre Müller took a break due to a calf injury that has hindered his performances recently. He withdrew just hours before his first match at the Rio Open, which was scheduled on Feb. 18.
Italian star Lorenzo Sonego skipped the entire South American clay-court swing, including the Rio Open and the Chile Open. The reason is his recent wrist injury, which he suffered early this season. Chinese star Shang Juncheng also withdrew due to recent physical issues.
Austrian star Filip Misolic entered a Challenger tournament in France as the top seed but retired from his first-round match on Feb. 17 due to physical issues. The same injury has led him to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament.
American star Eliot Spizzirri, who was on his way to upset the two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in Melbourne, pulled out of the Delray Beach Open and the Mexican Open due to some physical issues. Now, he is another name on the massive withdrawal list in Indian Wells.
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Serbian Hamad Medjedovic and Dutchman Jesper de Jong are the last official names on the withdrawal list, underscoring the physical toll the ATP Calendar takes on these professional athletes.
Similarly, the qualifying draw is also heavily affected by the withdrawals, with the acceptance cutoff dropping to world No. 190, Elias Ymer. With the main draw commencing on March 4, all eyes will be on the Tennis Paradise, scheduled to host the biggest men’s and women’s combined tournament after the Grand Slams.
