Last year, the Canadian Open tournament director was justifiably frustrated when he saw their biggest ATP stars withdraw.
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic all opted out of travelling to Montreal so soon after Wimbledon, thus creating a hugely weakened draw which Ben Shelton later took advantage of.
The same is now set to occur again, with history having repeated itself in 2026.
Alcaraz’s absence was expected, having been out for months now, but Sinner and Djokovic’s withdrawals have hit the tournament hard.
Now, another tournament director, Valerie Tetreault, has had her say.
Canadian Open tournament director confirms discussions to fix big problem for tennis
In a statement released following the Italian and Serbian’s confirmation of their absences, Tetreault has claimed: “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.”
She did sympathise with the players, actually using it as an opportunity to call for meaningful change for the sport.
Jannik Sinner forfeits his chance at Masters 1000 history… What do you make of this decision? 😬
Tetreault continued: “We respect their decisions and understand that, with such a demanding schedule, players’ health must remain the priority.
“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.
“We are already in discussions with the ATP to ensure this matter receives serious consideration.”
What has Jannik Sinner said about 12-day Masters 1000 events before?
It should come as no surprise that Sinner has decided to pull out of the Canadian Open, even if it has forfeited his chance of completing the Calendar Masters.
After all, he has never been the biggest fan of the new 12-day Masters 1000 format, criticising them after reaching the Cincinnati Open final just last year.
He claimed: “My personal view, I love the one-week events.
“I love it when you see that the tournament in Monaco, for example, you have for Monte Carlo, you have this one-week event, and you have the first-round matches, which are incredibly good. And if one good seeded-player loses, the next match is an incredible match still, and you have the quarter-finals and you know exactly when you buy the tickets
“You have the quarter-finals and then you have the semi-final, which is Saturday, and then you have finally Sunday. And now I lost a little bit of the view of when does actually a finalist [play], because it used to be always Sunday.
“Now, here [in Cincinnati] it’s Monday. In Toronto, it’s Wednesday or Thursday. So it’s difficult even for us players. We lose a little bit of the days of the week, I would say.”
