Injuries can be more ruthless than a tiger, and so can a loss of motivation. Let's review the players who have prematurely ended their seasons!

The calendar has already reached October, with only about a month left until the season concludes. While some players are still fighting for the remaining five spots in the year-end finals, others have already announced their season is over. Among them, some are sidelined due to injuries, while others have simply decided to end their season early because of poor performance.

A typical example of the latter is Tsitsipas, who recently announced the end of his Paris Masters campaign and will even miss his hometown tournament in Athens. It remains to be seen whether his decision will cause as much controversy domestically as Sinner’s refusal to participate in the Davis Cup did.

The Greek player actually started this season reasonably well. Although he exited early in the Australian Open, his best Grand Slam, he broke his embarrassing streak of reaching finals but never winning at the Dubai tournament, which was a moment of pride.

It was expected that he would perform well during the clay court season, especially since he won three Monte Carlo Masters titles in the past four years. However, things went unexpectedly wrong. Early exits affected his performance at Roland Garros and throughout the second half of the season, and even his former coach Ivanisevic expressed dissatisfaction with his professional attitude.

With his ranking continuously dropping, he eventually replaced Draper to participate in the six Masters tournaments. After earning a substantial amount, he chose to withdraw from the remaining events, which seemed quite justified.

Draper, who lost his spot in the six Masters tournaments to the Greek player, had already announced his season was over during the US Open due to lingering injuries.

After reaching the semifinals at last year's US Open, the British player continued his momentum by winning his first Masters title at Indian Wells this year, enjoying a period of great success. His runner-up finish at the Madrid Masters further proved his strength. However, a sudden injury forced him to hit the pause button on his rising career.

Paul, who has also been plagued by injuries, is another player affected. The Grand Slam semifinalist has long been a strong contender against the US’s second-best player and at one point even surpassed Fritz to become number one. Yet, injuries have caused his season to be inconsistent and interrupted.

Additionally, there is the first generation of young talent, Chung. Watching Vacherot break his record for the lowest ranking to win a Masters title this season, one wonders how he feels about it.

Injuries are more fearsome than tigers! Without them, Draper might have qualified for the year-end finals, and Paul might still have a chance... Hopefully, they will come back stronger next season and return to the courts!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Luo Cheng Qiye)