Montreal Masters loses Sinner and Djokovic after Wimbledon runs

Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will miss the Montreal Masters, removing the world's top-ranked player and the owner of 24 Grand Slam singles titles from one of the main stops before the US Open.

Tennis Canada announced the withdrawals after both men made deep runs at Wimbledon. Sinner won the men's title in London, while Djokovic reached the semifinals. Their exits leave the Montreal field without two players who would have shaped both the draw and fan interest around the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

Sinner said the choice followed discussions with his team and reflected a need to protect his health. Missing a major tournament was difficult, he said, but recovery had to come first after the demands of Wimbledon and the shift from grass to the North American hard courts.

A demanding turn in the tennis calendar

The men's tournament in Montreal runs from August 1 to August 13. It is a key preparation event for the US Open, which begins in New York on August 30, and it sits in a part of the season where leading players must quickly adjust to a new surface, time zone and playing conditions.

That timetable gives athletes who reach the final rounds at Wimbledon only a short break before training and competition resume. Sinner and Djokovic also withdrew from the Canadian event last year, when the men's tournament was held in Toronto under the annual rotation between the two cities.

The women's WTA 1000 tournament will be staged in Toronto this year. The men's and women's events switch host cities each season.

Organizers raise concern over late withdrawals

Montreal tournament director Valerie Tetreault said organizers respected the players' decisions and recognized that health must remain the priority. She also argued that repeated late withdrawals create a wider problem for Masters 1000 events because spectators reasonably expect the leading players to compete at the tour's flagship tournaments.

Tetreault said discussions were taking place with the ATP about possible adjustments that could protect the standing of Masters events while acknowledging the workload faced by players. The comments put the Montreal withdrawals into a broader debate over scheduling, mandatory events and the physical strain of an extended professional season.

How the Montreal draw changes

Alexander Zverev is expected to become the top seed in Montreal. The German arrived in the Canadian field after winning the French Open and finishing as the Wimbledon runner-up. Quebec's Felix Auger-Aliassime is expected to follow him among the leading seeds, giving home supporters a prominent player to follow.

Carlos Alcaraz had already withdrawn because of a lingering wrist injury. The Spaniard was targeting a return at the Cincinnati Masters, which begins immediately after Montreal and provides another major hard-court test before New York.

The combined absences of Sinner, Djokovic and Alcaraz significantly open the draw. They also give other contenders a chance to gain ranking points and build confidence before the final Grand Slam of the year.

For Sinner and Djokovic, the decision shifts attention to when they will return and how much competitive preparation they will have before the US Open. For Montreal, it leaves a strong tournament field carrying an unavoidable question about how tennis can keep its biggest events attractive without asking players to compromise recovery.

Source attribution: The Express Tribune, reporting information supplied by AFP.