The list of withdrawals at the Citi DC Open continues to increase as two high-profile names were recently added to the list. Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime reportedly won’t be taking part in the main draw of the ATP 500 tournament in Washington. This news comes just weeks after each parted ways with their respective coaches following Wimbledon.

Earlier their were talks about them not playing in Washington, but the confirmation came via the official tournament website. In the players listed on the website, both Medvedev and Auger-Aliassime were missing, meaning neither player will begin their North American hard-court campaign until Canada at the earliest.

While both are yet to clearly state the specific reason for their withdrawals, it is not entirely unprecedented. Both players are effectively rebuilding their support teams from scratch, which is why it makes sense that they have decided to take some time off to get new arrangements in place before diving into the North American swing.

Auger-Aliassime ended his nearly decade-long partnership with Frederic Fontang, the coach who had guided him since he was 16 and helped him climb to a career-high ranking of world No. 4 and win nine ATP Tour titles. The Canadian announced the split himself on Instagram, clarifying that it was no sudden reaction to a loss, but rather something that had been in the works. “After nearly ten years of working together, it has recently been decided that Wimbledon would be my last tournament with Frederic by my side as my coach,” he wrote. 

“Today, I want to express my deepest respect, gratitude, and admiration for his dedication and the passion he brought every single day to helping me achieve my goals. Since I was 16 years old, he has guided my development and helped me experience incredible moments through this sport. He has also been by my side during the toughest moments of my career,” he added.

Medvedev’s numbers under Thomas Johansson followed a comparable pattern. In their year together, the pair won three titles, in Almaty, Brisbane and Dubai, and reached the Indian Wells final and the Rome semi-finals. Those results were not translated to the Grand Slam stage, as his best finish was a fourth-round finish at this year’s Australian Open. This ultimately led him to make the switch heading into the American hard-court swing. 

Neither man has particularly fond memories of the tournament to give up either. Medvedev’s best performance in Washington was when he lost the final in two tiebreakers to Nick Kyrgios in 2019, and he fell to Corentin Moutet in a quarter-final last year. Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime has only made two appearances in Washington, both of which ended in the second round. His last appearance was in 2023, which resulted in a straight-sets defeat against Yosuke Watanuki in the second round. 

Even though their absences definitely leave a notable gap in the Washington draw, it still remains stacked.

A star-studded Washington draw

Alex de Minaur heads the field as top seed and defending champion, followed by Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti, with Learner Tien, Jakub Mensik and Frances Tiafoe rounding out the top six seeds. In the remaining 32-player pool are Rafael Jodar, Arthur Rinderknech, Ugo Humbert, Brandon Nakashima, Tomas Etcheverry, Alejandro Tabilo and Zizou Bergs, all of whom are seeded. 

While wildcards have gone to Ben Shelton, Jack Draper, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Kei Nishikori, giving the tournament plenty of star power even without Medvedev and Auger-Aliassime in the mix. Meanwhile, there are several players in the qualifying draw, including Alex Bolt, Dusan Lajovic, Sebastian Korda and Mackenzie McDonald, all vying for a spot in the main draw. 

Both absent players will be heading to Canada, while for the world No. 4 it will be a home tournament. His best performance remains a quarterfinal appearance in 2022, which he will be determined to change entering with his career-best ranking. Whether the extra preparation time in Washington’s absence translates into a stronger showing in Canada remains to be seen.