World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic have withdrawn from the National Bank (Canadian) Open, the Masters 1000 tournament announced Friday.
“After carefully considering all the factors together with my team, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw from Montreal,” Italy’s Sinner said in a statement to organizers.
“It is never easy to miss such an important event, but we believe this is the right decision to prioritize my health. I’m disappointed not to be there, but I look forward to returning to Montreal in the future.”
Zverev will be the top seed, with Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime as the second seed, making him the highest-seeded Canadian in tournament history.
Excluding the year-end ATP Finals tournament, the Masters 1000 tournaments fall in the tier of the second-largest tournaments in tennis, only behind Grand Slams.
However, with seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz still nursing a wrist injury, the Canadian Open will not include the sport’s three biggest stars for the second consecutive year.
The tournament started just two weeks after Wimbledon last year. With hopes of fewer withdrawals, the tournament was pushed back to start three weeks after Wimbledon this year and will begin Aug. 1.
“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,” tournament director Valérie Tétreault said in a statement.
He added that the tournament firmly believes adjustments need to be made that balance the players’ demanding schedules while getting them to compete in these Masters 1000 tournaments.
“We have already opened a dialogue with the ATP to explore solutions that would maximize the participation of the world’s top players in mandatory events,” Tennis Canada CEO Gavin Ziv said.
While the Canadian Open is getting hit harder than most of the other Masters 1000 tournaments, a lack of top players in these mandatory events is a broader trend across the sport.
During the 2010s, the year-end world No. 1 competed in 80 out of 90, or approximately 89 percent of Masters 1000 tournaments.
So far in the 2020s, the year-end world No. 1 has competed in 29 out of 46, or approximately 63 percent of Masters 1000 tournaments.
Sinner, who was on a record-run of six consecutive Masters 1000 titles dating back to last year’s Paris Masters, will not have the chance to go for a seventh consecutive.
Sinner won Canada back in 2023. Djokovic has won the tournament four times but has not competed in it since 2018.
