Just last night, it was revealed that Jannik Sinner had made the decision to withdraw from the Canadian Open.
This came as an absolute hammer blow for the tournament, with Novak Djokovic quickly following suit, joining Carlos Alcaraz on the list of notable superstar absentees.
For the Serbian however, this was a decision wholly expected.
After all, the preservation of his body is paramount to any success he might have in the coming years.
For Jannik Sinner, however, this is a truly mind-boggling move that has sacrificed his chances of creating tennis history.
Jannik Sinner sacrifices his chance to win all Masters 1000 in one year
Prior to the Canadian Open, the world number one had won every single Masters 1000 event thus far this season. Five straight tournaments at this level. Truly unprecedented.
And, with Alcaraz still desperately fighting to recover from his injury, and historically struggling later on in the season, many started to genuinely believe that Sinner could be the first man in history to win all nine of these tournaments in a single season.
Jannik Sinner forfeits his chance at Masters 1000 history… What do you make of this decision? 😬
A feat that has never been done before is rare in tennis, particularly after the dominance enjoyed by the Big Three in the past few decades.
However, it seemed unthinkable that Sinner would choose now as the time to rest his body and not push forward with a chance at truly writing his name in the history books.
It seems that he has sacrificed this in an effort to recapture the US Open title, which he lost last year. A head-scratching trade-off.
The Canadian Open changed its schedule specifically for Jannik Sinner
What will make the organisers of this tournament so frustrated after Sinner confirmed his Canadian Open withdrawal is the fact that they actually changed things for him and his fellow superstars.
After all, in 2025, this trio all missed the tournament as well, citing the quick turnaround from Wimbledon as the main reason for this decision.
This prompted tournament director Karl Hale to claim: “We are in talks with them to ensure they participate next year. In 2026, there will be three weeks between Wimbledon and Montreal. This year there were only two. That’s a significant change.”
This change was enacted, and it was still not enough.
Valérie Tétreault, another Tournament Director, has now said: “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.”
