Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic’s Canadian Open withdrawals have sparked debate around the need to change tennis’ demanding schedule.

World No 1 Sinner said he pulled out of Montreal to prioritise his health; Djokovic will have decided against taking part as he prioritises the slams as he nears 40, and Carlos Alcaraz is still out with a wrist injury.

Canadian Open tournament director Valerie Tetreault said on the high-profile withdrawals, “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.”

In years gone by, there was a two-week gap between Wimbledon and the Canadian Masters, but many top players still rocked up for this prestigious event. Now, there is a three-week break after SW19 but once again, the sport’s biggest stars are not competing.

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However, tennis content creator Gill Gross has pointed out that the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were skipping this tournament for years, particularly at the tail end of their careers.

Indeed, Federer opted out of playing on seven occasions between 2012 and 2021, Nadal played there five times between 2012 and 2024, and Djokovic hasn’t taken part at the Canadian Masters since 2018.

So while elongated Masters, which were a week and are now the majority are played over the best part of a fortnight, do not help things, there are other factors at play, too.

Gross said on his YouTube channel, “Everyone on my Twitter feed, basically in unison, all said the same thing when this news dropped, when Sinner and Djokovic pulled out on the same day. They all said, ‘Damn you extended two-week Masters 1000s, you’ve ruined it. You’ve ruined this event’. Look, I get it.

“I understand why that was the reaction. I am not a defender of the format. I have covered the flaws, the drawbacks when it comes to the format on the show many, many, many times. But we’ve got a short-term memory here, don’t we?

“Because last year, the Canada Masters became an expanded event for the first time, a two-week event, really 12, 13-day event. So let’s go back before then and examine the participation at the Canada Masters among the top players.

“Roger Federer, after 2011, played Canada how many times? Twice. This was Nadal’s best hardcourt event. He sometimes prioritised it over Cincinnati. How many times after 2011, when both of these were one-week events, how many times after 2011 did Nadal actually play both? Three times.

“When’s the last time Djokovic played Canada? 2018. He’s won 11 slams since 2018.He hasn’t played Canada. So I get the reaction to be mad at the expanded Masters 1000s for players skipping out of this event. That’s actually not it in this case.”

When Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic decided to skip Canada, it may have partly been down to them being in the second half of their respective careers, as they sought to manage their bodies more carefully.

But with the sport more physical than ever, it is understandable that players are being more selective with which tournaments they play. Regardless, Gross thinks Canada’s “bad spot” on the calendar is an inescapable issue.

Gross continued, “Now, I understand there’s an age difference in some of these cases where Sinner is mid-20s. And if you look at Djokovic not playing Canada since 2018, you’re looking at a more advanced age Djokovic in that particular sample size.

“But I also think that the big three, how long they played and how diligent they were about taking care of their bodies, I think they set a bit of an example for the future elite players in the sport for how maybe it should be done, how important it is to make sure that you’re not overextending your physicality and prioritising majors as they did so clearly.

“I think there was a bit of an example set. So I feel horrible for Canada, the National Bank Open. But this isn’t the expanded Masters fault. It has always been in a bad calendar spot. Always. This is not new.

“Let’s have a memory. And last year it was even worse because there was only two weeks between Wimbledon and the start of Canada. And this year, because of the way the calendar shook out, there was actually that extra week.

“So it was three weeks. And for that reason, they [the tournament organisers] were expecting to have better luck this year than they did last year. Not the case, unfortunate. I feel sorry for the locals at these events. I feel sorry for the people involved with these events. It’s not great.”

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