Italy, the two-time defending Davis Cup champions, will head into the Final 8 in Bologna from Nov. 18-23 without Jannik Sinner. The No. 8 player Lorenzo Musetti was included on the host nation’s roster, while third-ranked Alexander Zverev is set to represent Germany.

Carlos Alcaraz was named to Spain’s squad on Monday. Spain’s announced group also features Jaume Munar, Pedro Martinez and Marcel Granollers; a fifth player has not yet been announced.

Italy captain Filippo Volandri submitted a team that includes Flavio Cobolli, Matteo Berrettini, Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori alongside Musetti. Up to three players can be changed before the competition begins, but Sinner’s decision appears final.

“While it’s still very agonizing for us, we understand and respect Jannik’s decision, which comes at the end of a long and intense season,” said Angelo Binaghi, the president of the Italian tennis federation. Volandri was succinct when asked about availability: “Jannik Sinner didn’t make himself available,” Volandri said.

Sinner captured two Grand Slam titles this year, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and also served a three-month doping ban earlier in the season. His absence leaves Italy relying on Musetti and the depth named by Volandri as the hosts look to defend their title.

Spain’s inclusion of Alcaraz gives that team a high-profile leader as the Final 8 approaches. The tournament field will crystallize further if any of the three permitted pre-competition substitutions are used by the national captains in the run-up to the Nov. 18 start date.

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Nina Ghaibi were married on Sept. 21 in Marrakech, concluding a six-year relationship with a private ceremony held two weeks after Auger-Aliassime reached the US Open semifinals. The couple, who became engaged last year, kept most details of the celebration private, but a few glimpses surfaced through social posts and reporting.

Ahead of the US Open, Auger-Aliassime told People that Ghaibi, a cousin of Ajla Tomljanovic, “[did] everything” in planning their wedding. “As long as I have my suit ready, that’s about the best I can do,” he joked before reaching the semifinals at the year’s final major. “But she’s been amazing. Her and her family have been taking care of a lot, and I have to give her all the credit.”

The groom reportedly wore a Dior suit and said his principal concerns were a “full bar” and “hospitality” for guests. He added, “You want to feel like people are welcome, and they’re not stretching themselves to come to your wedding.”

Private images and videos shared on social media by Auger-Aliassime’s Davis Cup teammate Vasek Pospisil and by the bride’s sister, Cilia Ghaibi, showed moments from the day, including the newlyweds kissing after their vows beneath a large arch of greenery and white florals.

According to a report from Canadian tennis writer Stephanie Myles, Auger-Aliassime’s groomsmen included peers he first met in Tennis Canada’s training orbit: Alexis Galarneau, Joshua Peck, Victor Krustev and Nicaise Muamba. The party also included Vasek Pospisil, described in the report as the 35-year-old who was mutually coached by Frédéric Fontang.

The wedding followed a busy stretch for Auger-Aliassime on tour and highlighted a private celebration centered on family, close teammates and longtime friends.

Nikola Pilić, the Croatian player and coach who helped shape modern Davis Cup history and trained Novak Djokovic at his academy, has died at 86, the Croatian Tennis Association said Monday.

Pilić was a French Open singles runner-up in 1973 and was the central figure in the Wimbledon boycott that year. Yugoslavia tennis officials accused Pilić of refusing to play a Davis Cup tie against New Zealand. He denied it but was suspended. The International Lawn Tennis Federation (now the ITF) supported the Yugoslav decision but reduced his suspension to one month; that still included Wimbledon. Because Pilić was supported by the new Association of Tennis Professionals, 12 of the 16 top seeds and a total of 81 players boycotted Wimbledon.

Pilić had been a prominent player when tennis turned fully professional in 1968. When U.S. businessman Lamar Hunt backed a new professional tour called World Championship Tennis, Pilić was among the first eight men’s players signed, the group known as the Handsome Eight alongside John Newcombe and Tony Roche.

As a player Pilić won nine singles titles and reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 6. He lost the French Open final to Ilje Nastase. His six doubles titles included the 1970 U.S. Open, won with Pierre Barthes over Newcombe and Rod Laver in a four-set final.

After retiring from the tour in 1978, Pilić built a coaching career that included Davis Cup success as a non-playing captain with Boris Becker’s Germany, winning in 1988, 1989 and 1993, and leading Croatia to Davis Cup victory in 2005. He also served as an adviser when Serbia won the Davis Cup in 2010. Djokovic once called the Croat, the first coach to lead three countries to Davis Cup glory, his “tennis father.”