Canada Masters director airs grievances with ATP after Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic withdraw 1 week before tournament
At this moment in tennis, the three biggest names on the men's side are Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. None of them will be in attendance for this year's National Bank Open in Montreal, which is in theory a mandatory tournament.
Tennis Canada confirmed Friday that Sinner and Djokovic have withdrawn from the tournament, roughly one week before its start date on Aug. 1. Alcaraz was already known to be out with the wrist injury that has sidelined him since clay season.
It is the second straight year Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic have skipped the tournament.
Sinner has played only one tournament (his successful Wimbledon title defense) since his cramp-induced crashout at Roland-Garros in May. He didn't cite a specific injury or health reason for the withdrawal:
"After carefully considering all the factors together with my team, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw from Montreal," Sinner explained in a statement. "It is never easy to miss such an important event, but we believe this is the right decision to prioritise my health. I'm disappointed not to be there, but I look forward to returning to Montreal in the future."
The decision ends Sinner's chance at accomplishing something completely unprecedented: a Masters 1000 sweep. He has already won the first five 1000 titles this year and would have had three more to go if he won Montreal.
Djokovic, meanwhile, has played only five tournaments this year (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Rome, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon). At 38 years old, he is highly selective with his tournaments these days and has access to exemptions from mandatory tournaments by virtue of his experience on tour.
With that trio out, the top three seeds in Montreal now stand to be Alexander Zverev, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Ben Shelton, with the Canadian Auger-Aliassime as the local favorite.
In a statement provided to The Canadian Press, tournament director Valerie Tetreault express frustration with the situation and called for a change on the ATP side:
"We are obviously very disappointed that Jannik and Novak won't be joining us in Montreal this year, especially after they also withdrew from last year's tournament in Toronto. We respect their decisions and understand that, with such a demanding schedule, players' health must remain the priority," said NBO tournament director Valerie Tetreault in a statement.
"That said, we believe the frequency of these last-minute withdrawals in the last few years raises a broader issue for our sport. Masters 1000 events are among the flagship tournaments on the tour, and fans rightfully expect to see the world's best compete."
Tetreault added that Tennis Canada is already in discussion with the ATP to "ensure this matter receives serious consideration."
"We firmly believe adjustments are needed in the near future to better protect the integrity of our Masters 1000 events while remaining mindful of the realities players face," she said.
The ATP certainly won't be happy with the situation either, as getting its biggest names to play its preferred number of tournaments is an issue that predates any of these specific players.
The tennis calendar is stuffed throughout the year and the Canada Masters tournaments, which alternate with Toronto and Montreal hosting the men and women each year, is in a particularly sticky spot. It is only a few weeks after Wimbledon and represents the first leg of a month and a half of nearly uninterrupted tennis for top players if played alongside the Cincinnati Masters and US Open.
We saw pretty much the same complaints about the schedule from Tetrault’s predecessor Karl Hale when the trio missed last year’s tournament in Toronto. Unfortunately, Haler also insisted that Sinner and Alcaraz would be in Montreal in 2026.
