The three biggest stars in tennis right now on the men’s side are Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. None of them will be attending this year’s National Bank Open in Montreal, which in theory is a mandatory tournament.
Tennis Canada announced Friday that Sinner and Djokovic had withdrawn from the tournament, about a week before the Aug. 1 opening day. It was already known that Alcaraz had been sidelined since the clay season with a wrist injury.
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This is the second year in a row that Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic will miss the tournament.
Sinner has only competed in one tournament since convulsing and crashing out at Roland Garros in May (successfully defending his Wimbledon title). He did not mention any specific injuries or health reasons for his absence.
“After carefully considering all factors with my team, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw from Montreal,” Sinner said in a statement. “It’s never easy to miss such an important event, but I believe this is the right decision with my health as my top priority. I’m disappointed not to be able to participate, but I look forward to returning to Montreal in the future.”
This decision ended Sinner’s chances of achieving the completely unprecedented Masters 1000 victory. He has already won his first five 1000 titles this year and could have won three more had he won in Montreal.
Djokovic, on the other hand, has played in just five tournaments this year (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Rome, Roland Garros and Wimbledon). The 38-year-old has been very selective about his tournaments lately, and his experience on tour allows him to receive exemptions from mandatory tournaments.
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With the trio eliminated, Montreal’s top three seeds are now Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Ben Shelton, leaving Canadian Auger-Aliassime as the local favorite.
In a statement provided to The Canadian Press, tournament director Valerie Tetreault expressed frustration with the situation and called for changes on the ATP side.
“We are extremely disappointed that Yannick and Novak will not be participating in Montreal this year, especially since they also withdrew from last year’s Toronto tournament, and we respect their decision and understand that the health of the players must continue to be a priority in such a demanding schedule,” NBO tournament director Valérie Tétreault said in a statement.
“That being said, we believe the frequency of last-minute withdrawals in recent years raises broader issues for our sport. The Masters 1000 event is one of the Tour’s flagship tournaments, and fans rightly expect to see the world’s best.”
Tetreault added that Tennis Canada is already in discussions with the ATP “to ensure that this issue is seriously considered.”
“We strongly believe that adjustments will be necessary in the near future to better protect the integrity of the Masters 1000 event, while keeping in mind the realities faced by our players,” she said.
Naturally, ATP is not happy with this situation. Because getting ATP’s biggest names to play in the desired number of tournaments is an issue that predates these specific players.
The tennis calendar is packed year-round, but the Canada Masters tournament, held each year in Toronto and Montreal for men and women, is particularly troublesome. If held just weeks after Wimbledon and alongside the Cincinnati Masters and US Open, it will be the first in a month and a half of nearly uninterrupted tennis for top players.
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We saw much the same complaints about the schedule when Tetraut’s predecessor, Karl Hale, missed last year’s tournament in Toronto. Unfortunately, Hale also claimed that Sinner and Alcaraz will be in Montreal in 2026.
