Canada's Milos Raonic was one of the four players to withdraw from the French Open on Thursday, just before the draw was announced.
He was joined by Britain's Kyle Edmund and Spain's Fernando Verdasco on the men's side, and Belinda Bencic, No. 10 in the world, on the women's.
While the exact reasoning was not immediately known, TSN's Mark Masters did report the reasoning was preventative and not injury-related.
Raonic did play at a tune-up for Roland Garros, losing in the Round of 32 at the Italian Open.
Milos Raonic out of #RolandGarros.
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) September 24, 2020
See you back on hard courts, @milosraonic!
Back on Sept. 1, while at the U.S. Open, Raonic did raise issue with the French Open's lack of a complete fanless bubble, like in Flushing; however, it is unknown whether this affected his withdrawal.
"The only thing that is of some concern to me is the fact that it's going to 20,000 fans," he said, although the number has since been reduced. "Unless they plan on completely shifting around the organization of the venue, it's hard to get to your practices, get to your matches without crossing tens if not hundreds of people on the grounds. So, that to me is the biggest concern."
🇨🇦 Milos Raonic withdraws from #RG20
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) September 24, 2020
Hasn't played Roland Garros since 2017
Told it's more a preventative move this year rather than an injury issue
Entering Roland Garros, Raonic was coming off a few weeks of quality tennis on the hard courts. He advanced to the finals of the Western and Southern Open before losing in three sets to No. 1 Novak Djokovic. At the U.S. Open, he cruised through the first round before falling to fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil. Earlier in the year, he advanced to the quarters of the Australian Open before losing to Djokovic and made the semis at Delray Beach.
Raonic has not played at the French Open since 2017. He withdrew in 2018 for unspecified reasons; however, he did not play in the tune-up in Rome because of a knee issue. He also withdrew in 2019 because of a knee injury. In 2017, he advanced to the Round of 16 before losing to Pablo Carreno Busta in five sets.
Four Canadian men are set to play in Paris: Steven Diez, who advanced out of qualifying, Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Vasek Pospisil. On the women's side, Eugenie Bouchard and Leylah Annie Fernandez will compete. Bianca Andreescu withdrew from the tournament earlier this week.