Cincinnati Draw Wide Open as Sinner and Alcaraz Both Withdraw

A Draw Without Its Two Biggest Stars

The Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio, opens its main draw on Thursday without the two players who have defined men's tennis in 2026. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has withdrawn due to a knee injury, while Carlos Alcaraz, the defending Cincinnati champion, sits out with a wrist problem that already forced him to miss Montreal and Washington. Neither player has provided a confirmed return date, leaving the ATP Cincinnati field without its two headline acts for the first time in several years.

The absences follow a broader trend across the North American hard-court swing, where injury disruptions have reshuffled the order of play at successive events. Cincinnati, the final Masters 1000 before the US Open, now presents an unusually open draw — and with it, a genuine opportunity for several players who would normally face a tougher path.

Zverev, Djokovic and the Question of Experience

Alexander Zverev steps in as the top seed and the man most regard as the outright favourite. The German won the Cincinnati title in 2021 and has consistently performed at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, making deep runs in subsequent years. His projected quarter-final opponent could be seventh seed Flavio Cobolli, who thrust himself into the conversation at the highest level by reaching the Roland Garros final earlier in 2026 — a result that earned him considerable respect on all surfaces.

Third seed Novak Djokovic has won Cincinnati three times and remains a formidable threat on hard courts. Though the Serbian no longer dominates the calendar as he once did, his ability to produce his best tennis in big moments has been evident throughout 2026. The projected Zverev-Djokovic final is the matchup most neutrals would choose.

Jódar and the New Guard

No player enters Cincinnati carrying more momentum from the Canadian leg of the swing than Rafael Jódar. The 19-year-old Spaniard, seeded 12th, is contesting the Montreal semi-finals on Wednesday before making the trip to Ohio. Jódar's summer on hard courts has been exceptional: multiple wins against top-25 opponents, a first ATP title, and now a first Masters 1000 semi-final in Montreal. He arrives in Cincinnati with a level of confidence that few players his age carry at this point in a season. With the top two seeds absent, the upper half of the draw presents a path that his current form is capable of converting.

Ben Shelton, the eighth seed and another player in strong North American form, also features in the Cincinnati draw after reaching the Montreal semis. Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and sixth seed Taylor Fritz ensure the American and Canadian contingents give home fans plenty to follow.

Women's Draw Hit Hard by Withdrawals

The WTA side of Cincinnati is equally disrupted. Jasmine Paolini, the 2025 Cincinnati finalist, has withdrawn with a foot injury that has now cost her Montreal, Washington, and Cincinnati in rapid succession. The Italian risks exiting the top 20 as ranking points from last year's final run expire without replacement. Karolina Muchova, ranked sixth in the world, is absent after a medical procedure following Wimbledon.

Those withdrawals consolidate the position of the top seeds. Aryna Sabalenka as world No. 1 and Elena Rybakina as second seed arrive in Cincinnati off the back of semi-final appearances in Toronto, both in strong physical condition with US Open preparation firmly in mind. Coco Gauff, fourth seed, is also in the draw following her Toronto run.

Main draw action begins at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Thursday, 13 August.