The 2026 Canadian Open is the sixth ATP Masters 1000 event on the ATP Tour calendar, but several big-name players have once again opted to skip the tournament.

This year’s event – the 136th edition of the men’s tournament – will take place at the IGA Stadium in Montreal and it is the start of the triple-header North American hard-court swing with the Cincinnati Open the second leg and the US Open the third leg.

Ben Shelton is the defending champion as the American won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title last August after beating Karen Khachanov in three tight sets in the showpiece match.

The 23-year-old will return to defend his trophy and he will be seeded fifth.

How Big Is The 2026 Canadian Open Field?

It is a 96-player singles draw and the top 32 players on the entry list based on the ATP Rankings of 27 July will receive byes into the second round of the ATP 1000 event.

Six players will gain entry thanks to wildcards with three already confirmed as Canadians Gabriel Diallo and Liam Draxl will be joined by Frenchman Gael Monfils in the main draw.

Hubert Hurkacz and Shang Juncheng have entered via their protected ranking, while 16 names are still to be confirmed from the qualifying tournament.

Who Are The Seeds In Montreal?

Reigning French Open champion and world No 2 Alexander Zverev will headline the field and there is good news for locals as Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime will be seeded second for his home event.

The rest of the top 10 features Alex de Minaur, Daniil Medvedev, Shelton, Flavio Cobolli, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Bublik and Casper Ruud.

World No 35 Matteo Arnaldi currently occupies the last seeding position, but there are doubts over his fitness as he was forced to retire from his first-round match at the Washington DC Open on Monday.

Belgians Zizou Bergs and Raphael Collignon are next if there are any more withdrawals from the top 32.

Big-Name Stars Who Are Absent…

As you will have noticed, there are no Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic among the top 10 seeds as the trio have opted not to play. Alcaraz, of course, is still recovering from injury while Sinner and Djokovic are taking extended breaks ahead of the US Open.

So far, those are the only seeds to withdraw, but the list could still grow.

With the entry list confirmed on 9 July, British No 1 Arthur Fery won’t feature unless he comes through qualifying as he was outside the top 100 at the time and only surged into the top 40 after Wimbledon.

The Draw And Other Important Dates

The draw ceremony is scheduled for Friday, 31 July.

The men’s first-round matches will get underway on Sunday, 2 August and it will reach the business end (quarter-finals) on Monday 10 August and Tuesday, 11 August before the semi-finals take place on Wednesday.

It will all come to an end on Thursday, 13 August with the men’s final set for 17:30 local time.