ATP Qatar Open: Withdrawal list as Novak Djokovic among three top 10 stars to pull out

Ewan West 16 Feb 2026 4:45 PM

Novak Djokovic serves

The top two players on the ATP Tour — Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner — headline a strong field at the 2026 Qatar Open, but three top 10 stars have pulled out of the event.

The Qatar Open was upgraded to ATP 500 level in 2025, having previously been a 250 level tournament since its inception in 1993. It is staged at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex on outdoor hard courts

Andrey Rublev is the reigning champion in Doha, having defeated Jack Draper 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 in last year’s championship match.

The Qatar Open main draw features 32 players, with eight seeds, and it is played over five rounds with no byes.

There are six top 20 players competing, Alcaraz (1), Sinner (2), Daniil Medvedev (11), Rublev (15), Jakub Mensik (16) and Karen Khachanov (18).

Who has withdrawn from the Qatar Open?

While the draw at the 2026 Qatar Open is packed with talent, it had looked set to be even stronger, with five members of the top 10 having been on the original entry list.

As well as Alcaraz and Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Bublik — who are ranked third, seventh and 10th respectively — all signed up to play, but they all withdrew.

Djokovic, who is a two-time Qatar Open champion, announced his withdrawal five days before the start of the tournament.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion has not spoken about his decision, but organisers cited “strong fatigue” as the reason.

“Novak Djokovic is pulling out from Doha due to strong fatigue,” the Qatar Open said in a statement. “Qatar will miss you. Wishing you a speedy recovery.”

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Auger-Aliassime was a semi-finalist in Doha 12 months ago, and he pulled out before the draw for this year’s event was made.

While no official reason has been given for Auger-Aliassime’s absence, it can likely be explained by his efforts in the previous two weeks as he played nine matches across Montpellier and Rotterdam.

The Canadian won the ATP 250 in Montpellier before losing in the final of the ATP 500 in Rotterdam. In the second set of his Rotterdam final loss, Auger-Aliassime took a medical timeout and looked to be struggling physically.

After Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime’s withdrawals, Bublik was bumped up to the No 3 seed position when the Qatar Open draw was made.

However, the Kazakh — who was a semi-finalist in Rotterdam — pulled out due to fatigue after arriving in Doha.

“Arrived in Doha, but was forced to withdraw due to fatigue. See you in Dubai,” Bublik posted on social media.

Denis Shapovalov, a former world No 10 currently ranked 35th, is the only other player to withdraw from the Qatar Open. The 26-year-old Canadian reached the semi-finals of the ATP 500 in Dallas last week.