A Major Blow to the Davis Cup Final With the Absence of the World’s Top Two Players

The organizers of the Davis Cup tennis competition suffered a major setback following the successive withdrawals of top players from the final round, which will be held in the Italian city of Bologna.

The absence of the world’s top two players — Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, ranked No.1 in the ATP standings, and Italy’s Jannik Sinner, ranked No.2 — is considered the biggest blow to the event, especially since Italy will now be significantly weakened in its title-defense campaign, something that will inevitably impact overall interest in the final round.

The Italian team will be missing its two best players in the final. After Sinner announced he would not participate in order to better prepare for next season, his compatriot Lorenzo Musetti — who, alongside Sinner, helped Italy win the title in 2023 and 2024 after a drought dating back to 1976 — also withdrew.

Alcaraz, for his part, announced yesterday his withdrawal from the final round of the global competition due to a right-leg injury, coming just days after losing the ATP Finals championship match to Sinner.

The Spanish star pulled out two days before his country’s anticipated quarterfinal clash against the Czech Republic. He wrote on his “X” account: “I’m very sorry to announce that I won’t be able to play,” explaining that he is suffering from a right-leg injury sustained during the ATP Finals title match last Sunday.

A statement issued by the Spanish Tennis Federation said that Alcaraz joined his teammates earlier this week in Bologna, where medical examinations revealed “severe muscular fatigue along with a clear injury to the right hamstring.”

The federation clarified that Alcaraz — who finished the 2025 season with eight titles, including two Grand Slams — “will return to Spain to undergo the necessary treatment.”

Alcaraz’s absence represents another blow to the organizers of the Davis Cup, following the earlier withdrawals of Sinner and Musetti, ahead of the first edition to be hosted on Italian soil after several years in Málaga, Spain.

With all these withdrawals, Germany’s Alexander Zverev — ranked No.3 in the world — remains the only Top-10 player left in the competition.

Betway stands out as UAE’s top online betting site, keeping fans fully engaged even as the Davis Cup final round loses its biggest stars.