Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have withdrawn from the Canadian Open in Montreal, leaving the Masters 1000 event without two of its biggest draws. The ATP Tour confirmed both pull-outs on 25 July 2026, weeks before the tournament is due to begin.

Sinner said he withdrew to prioritise his health, according to the BBC. No specific injury was named. Djokovic's reasons were not detailed in the ATP's official confirmation.

Carlos Alcaraz will also be absent. He has not played since April because of a wrist injury and is still recovering. That means three of the sport's marquee names will be missing when play gets under way in Montreal.

The Canadian Open, also known as the National Bank Open, is a Masters 1000 event — the tier of tournaments just below the four Grand Slams in prestige and ranking points. It sits in a demanding stretch of the calendar: after Montreal comes Cincinnati, another Masters 1000, and then the US Open, the year's final Grand Slam, which starts on 30 August.

Seven of the nine existing Masters 1000 events are now staged over 12 days, part of a wider expansion of the tennis calendar that has drawn increasing criticism from players. Alcaraz himself put it bluntly in September 2024: "They are going to kill us in some way."

For the Canadian Open, this is becoming a pattern. Tournament director Valerie Tetreault noted that Sinner and Djokovic also withdrew from last year's edition, held in Toronto. She said the frequency of last-minute pull-outs in recent years raises a broader issue for the sport.

Tetreault did not stop at lamenting the trend. She said the tournament is already in discussions with the ATP — the men's tour — to ensure the matter receives serious consideration. Adjustments are needed in the near future, she argued, to protect the integrity of Masters 1000 events while remaining mindful of what players face.

What makes this stand out is the collision of two pressures that tennis has been struggling to reconcile. The tour wants its top events to feel complete, with the best players on court. The players, meanwhile, are navigating a calendar that has only grown longer, with extended 12-day Masters events sandwiching the Grand Slams and leaving thinner recovery windows between them.

For fans in Montreal, the field will still be strong — a Masters 1000 draw is deep by definition. But the absence of Sinner, Djokovic and Alcaraz removes three of the sport's most reliable box-office draws, and it does so at a tournament designed to build momentum toward the US Open.

Whether the ATP acts on Tetreault's call remains an open question. What is no longer in doubt is that the schedule debate has moved from grumbling in press conferences to tournament directors speaking on the record.