Paris Masters 2024: 4 players set to miss the tournament ft. Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic will not be defending his 2024 Paris Masters crown, having announced his withdrawal from the tournament. Many big names, however, have still begun to land in the French capital for the Masters 1000 event, which is scheduled to begin on October 28.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will lead the field at this year's tournament in Djokovic's absence. The Serb is not the only big absentee this year as a few others have also decided to give the year's biggest indoor hardcourt tournament a miss.

With main draw action set to begin on Monday (October 28), it's a great time to look at how the field in stacking up. Here, we have listed four big names who will be missing from the 2024 Paris Masters:

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#1. Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic (Source: Getty)

Novak Djokovic recently announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris Masters tournament, where he was the defending champion. The Serb had beaten Grigor Dimitorov in the summit clash to capture the title last year.

The Serb has been selective with his schedule all year. While he made the final at his last tournament in Shanghai, he has chosen to take some time off heading towards the season’s conclusion.

Djokovic, who has the most number of match wins at the Paris Masters and seven titles to show, recalled the memories from his past appearances and promised fans of returning next year.

"Unfortunately, I won't be playing the Paris Masters this year," Novak Djokovic said in a statement. "I have a lot of great memories winning seven titles there and hope to be back with you next year."

With his withdrawal, the chances of Djokovic qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals have also all but disappeared.

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#2. Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal (Source: Getty)

Rafael Nadal will end his career without having ever lifted the Paris Masters crown as the Spaniard, who earlier announced his decision to retire after next month’s Davis Cup Finals, has chosen not to enter the event.

Otherwise 14-time French Open champion, Nadal never had the same level of success at the two venues in Paris. He did come close to lifting the crown once, way back in 2007, but lost the final to David Nalbandian.

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#3. Mackenzie McDonald

Mackenzie McDonald (Source: Getty)

Mackenzie McDonald showed a lot of promise at the US Open when he took the opening set off of eventual champion Jannik Sinner but the American has not been able to translate that into big stage success.

The American had since switched focus to the lower rung tournaments, playing at multiple Challengers during the Asian swing. He had earlier also withdrawn from the Shanghai Masters, where he was set to take on Ugo Blanchet in the opening qualification rounds.

McDonald has impressed with his performance at last year’s Paris Masters as well, pushing Sinner to the brink in their second-round encounter. He eventually lost 7-6(6), 5-7, 1-6.

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#4. Roman Safiullin

Roman Safiullin (Source: Getty)

Another player who has posted a solid result at the Paris Masters last year, Roman Safiullin, will also be missing from the draw this time around.

The Russian came through the qualification rounds before going on to shock Carlos Alcaraz in the second round. The stunning upset saw him take the encounter rather comfortably 6-3, 6-4. He then had Karen Khachanov, a former Paris Masters champion, on the ropes but fell short in three sets.

This year, the Russian has also shown sparks of brilliance. Just a few weeks ago, he has beaten the likes of Alexander Bublik and Frances Tiafoe en-route to the the fourth round at the Shanghai Masters. He has not given a specific reason to his withdrawal from the Paris Masters.