Despite staying in the top 10 all year, Felix Auger-Aliassime‘s road to the ATP Finals has come to an early end. His form has dipped significantly since Wimbledon, and he won only three matches in the North American swing. The Canadian’s poor fortunes continued in China, as he was recently forced to retire from his Round of 16 clash against Casper Ruud at the Shanghai Masters due to a knee injury. This setback hasn’t just ended Auger-Aliassime’s ATP Finals hopes, but it will also lead to him eventually losing his spot in the top 10.

Auger-Aliassime has withdrawn from the upcoming events in Brussels and Basel due to the injury. His withdrawal from Brussels will cost him 250 points, as he won the tournament last year. It will also see him drop to 15th in the Race to Turin, leaving him out of contention for the event. Paris Masters is expected to be his final tournament of the season.

“After injuring my knee during my match in Shanghai earlier this week, my team and I have decided that I’ll take the next two weeks off from competition,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “Unfortunately, this means withdrawing from Brussels and Basel, two tournaments I’ve won and really enjoyed playing in the past. Now the focus shifts to recovery and working hard to get back to competing as soon as possible. Thank you all for your continued support.

Currently ranked No. 5, Auger-Aliassime is expected to drop multiple places in the coming weeks. Despite consistently being in the top 10 throughout the season, the Canadian’s year isn’t ending the way he would have wanted. In contrast, he had ended the 2025 season on quite a high, reaching the final of the Paris Masters and the semifinals of the ATP Finals.

Things started going downhill for Auger-Aliassime in the North American swing. An unexpected back injury forced him to withdraw from the Canadian Open before Frances Tiafoe defeated him 6-3, 6-4 in the Round of 16 at the Cincinnati Masters. The US Open also proved to be a disappointment as Karen Khachanov defeated Auger-Aliassime in four sets in the second round.

The Russian got the better of him again in the Round of 32 at the China Open, just days after their match in New York. Auger-Aliassime looked pretty shaky at the Shanghai Masters as well. He recorded a hard-fought 4-6, 7-6, 7-5 victory over Camilo Ugo Carabelli before defeating Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. The Canadian came up against Casper Ruud next, but the knee injury resulted in his retirement while trailing 5-2 in the first set.

Despite the lucky win over Auger-Aliassime, Ruud wasn’t able to go far in the tournament. He was knocked out by Rafael Jodar in the very next round. Though the Norwegian made a strong start to the match and took the first set, Jodar rallied from behind to clinch a dramatic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win. After the defeat, Ruud also withdrew from one of the tournaments Auger-Aliassime pulled out.

Casper Ruud also won’t be playing in Brussels this season

Ruud didn’t appear to be at his physical best during the match against Jodar. He allowed his teenage opponent to get back into the match and wasn’t able to handle the pressure. After the defeat, Ruud pulled out of the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open in Brussels. Like Auger-Aliassime, the Norwegian is also out of the race for the ATP Finals.

Ruud’s withdrawal means that the tournament has now lost two of its headline players. Arthur Fils and Jiri Lehecka are the two names who can now be considered the favorites for the title.

Whilst Fils was expected to qualify for the ATP Finals anyway, he now has a great opportunity to add 250 points to his tally and confirm his place in the tournament. His tally of 3,325 points is already 500 points clear of the expected cut-off.

The Frenchman is currently facing pressure from Jodar, who has reached the final of the Shanghai Masters, where he will be taking on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final. A victory here would see him overtake Fils and leave him in the ninth and final spot for the ATP Finals.