Felix Auger-Aliassime withdraws from Davis Cup qualifier after energy-zapping run to the US Open semi-finals

Felix Auger-Aliassime endured a successful US Open campaign, going all the way to the semi-finals where he was defeated by the reigning champion and world number one Jannik Sinner. This effort has taken a toll, with the Canadian withdrawing from the Davis Cup fixture later this month.

He was supposed to represent his country in a World Group I clash against Israel, which is to be played between the 12th-13th September in Halifax, Nova Sctoa, Canada. The winner will advance to the 2026 qualifiers, whilst the loser remains in Group I.

Groups I and II are both below the top tier, with nations in them desperately fighting to climb out of it to join the 24 qualifiers, who proceed to battle for a spot in the Finals. After failing to win their qualifier earlier this year, Canada dropped into Group I. They will not compete in the Davis Cup Finals, which will take place in Bologna, Italy, between the 18th-23rd of November.

Canada have had some memorable runs in the competition in recent years, reaching the final for the first time in 2019, losing to the hosts Spain 2-0, led by Rafael Nadal. Their luck would turn for the better in 2022, when Auger-Aliassime led his country to its maiden Davis Cup triumph.

They defeated Germany in a 2-1 win before repeating the result against Italy in the semis, with Auger-Aliassime winning both of his singles matches against Oscar Otte and Lorenzo Musetti, respectively. The final was against the Australians, with Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov defeating both Alex de Minaur and Thanasi Kokkinakis to claim a memorable title win.

They have qualified for the finals in 2023 and 2024, but were knocked out at the first time of asking against Finland and Germany. Again, without their star man, at the start of the year, they lost 3-2 to Hungary, the first time they failed to advance to the finals since 2021, when they lost 4-0 to the Netherlands.

Canada will be hoping to be involved in the 2026 finals, but will have to do it without the Canadian number one, Auger-Aliassime. His remarkable run to the semis has resulted in him not being in perfect condition to play. Along with that, he would most likely have his sights on the remaining tournaments of the year, predominantly held in Asia. This includes two Masters 1000 tournaments held in Beijing and Paris.

Looking back at his US Open run, he went into the tournament as the 25th seed. He did not boast the best results going into it, losing the first round tie in three of his prior five majors. His last quarter-final appearance came back in Melbourne in 2022, achieving a semi-final at Flushing Meadows just before that.

He turned back the time and produced a memorable run, overcoming Billy Harris and Roman Safiullin in straight sets, before creating a seismic shock when he took down the world number three seed Alexander Zverev in four sets, fielding a fantastic performance. He got another solid victory over Andrey Rublev, before coming back from a set down to dump out de Minaur to reach the semis. Despite managing to grab a set off the world number one, Sinner proved to be just too strong for him, ending his tournament. Now back up in the top 15 in the world, he leaves New York as the new number 13 in a successful trip for the Canadian.

This has led to him abandoning his country for the Davis Cup tie, with the likes of Gabriel Diallo, Liam Draxl, Alexis Galarneau, and Cleeve Harper waving the flag.