The 2026 Mutua Madrid Open was supposed to be one of the crown jewels of the clay court season. Instead, it enters its main draw with a record 21 withdrawals casting a long shadow over both the men's and women's draws.
The latest player to pull out is Jack Draper. The British number one, troubled by a knee tendon issue since retiring in the first round at Barcelona, announced Sunday that he would skip not only Madrid but also Rome. Draper, ranked eighth in the world, is now in a race against time to be fit for Roland-Garros. "It's nothing too serious and recovery is going well, but I don't want to take unnecessary risks," he said. His ranking is expected to take a significant hit in the coming weeks.
Draper joins an already stacked list of absentees. Carlos Alcaraz, the world number two, withdrew last Friday with a right wrist injury sustained at the Barcelona Open. Novak Djokovic hasn't played an official match since his loss to Draper at Indian Wells in March and remains in recovery mode. Taylor Fritz, Holger Rune, Sebastian Korda and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard are also missing from the ATP draw.
The WTA side is equally depleted. Karolina Muchova, the Stuttgart finalist, cited fatigue for her withdrawal. Emma Raducanu, Emma Navarro, Maya Joint, Barbora Krejcikova and Marketa Vondrousova — still facing an ITIA investigation for refusing a doping test — are all absent.
With the field thinned out, Jannik Sinner stands as the overwhelming favorite on the men's side. The world number one has won four consecutive Masters 1000 titles and looks untouchable on current form. Alexander Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti, Ben Shelton and Barcelona champion Arthur Fils will try to challenge him. On the women's side, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka remains the player to beat.
Qualifying began Monday. The main draw opens Wednesday in a tournament that still boasts considerable star power but bears the scars of an unprecedented wave of withdrawals.
