World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic have withdrawn from next month’s ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal, Tennis Canada announced on Friday.
Both players are coming off deep runs at Wimbledon earlier this month, where Sinner captured his maiden title at the All England Club and Djokovic reached the semifinals.
“After carefully considering all the factors together with my team, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw from Montreal,” Sinner said in a statement.
“It is never easy to miss such an important event, but we believe this is the right decision to prioritize my health.”
The Montreal tournament, scheduled for August 1-13, is one of the key hard-court events leading into the US Open. This year, Montreal hosts the men’s ATP Masters 1000 event, while Toronto hosts the women’s WTA 1000 tournament, with the two cities alternating hosting duties annually.
Tournament director Valérie Tétreault said organizers respected the decisions of both players but expressed concern over the growing number of late withdrawals from top-ranked stars.
“We respect their decisions and understand that, with such a demanding schedule, players’ health must remain the priority,” Tétreault said.
“That said, we believe the frequency of these last-minute withdrawals in the last few years raises a broader issue for our sport.”
She added that Masters 1000 tournaments are among the flagship events on the ATP Tour and that fans expect to see the world’s best players compete. Tétreault also revealed that Tennis Canada is in discussions with the ATP about possible adjustments aimed at protecting the integrity of Masters 1000 events while taking into account the demands placed on players.
With Sinner and Djokovic out, world No. 2 Alexander Zverev, the reigning French Open champion and this year’s Wimbledon runner-up, is expected to be the top seed in Montreal, followed by Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime.
Third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz had already withdrawn from the tournament due to a lingering wrist injury. The Spaniard is targeting a return at the Cincinnati Masters, which begins immediately after the Montreal event, in preparation for the final Grand Slam of the season, the US Open, which is set to kick off on August 30.
