Sinner and Djokovic Pull Out of Canadian Open, Director Demands Schedule Overhaul

Sinner and Djokovic both skip the Canadian Open, gutting the draw before a ball is struck

The Canadian Open will begin without its top two names. Jannik Sinner, the world No. 1, and Novak Djokovic, the most decorated men's player in history, have both withdrawn from the Masters 1000 event split between Montreal and Toronto, the last major tune-up before the US Open.

For Djokovic, now 38, the decision tracks with his recent pattern of skipping Masters 1000 events to preserve his body for Grand Slams and the year-end Finals. Sinner's reasoning is similar. Sustained deep runs at every major leave almost no recovery window before the summer hard-court stretch, and the Canadian Open sits directly after Wimbledon on the calendar. Players who reach the latter stages in London have weeks, not months, to change surfaces, cross the Atlantic, and compete at full intensity.

The tournament director's complaint is also a commercial one

The Canadian Open's tournament director responded to the withdrawals by calling the current ATP calendar a "demanding schedule" and urging reform. That is not an abstract grievance. Tournament directors sell tickets, broadcast rights, and sponsorship packages built around star names. When those names withdraw, the commercial product absorbs the damage.

The remaining field still offers 1,000 ranking points and several realistic contenders who will view this as a genuine path to a title and momentum into Flushing Meadows. What the draw cannot replace is the marquee pull. Sinner and Djokovic matches fill stadiums, lift ratings, and drive the social media engagement sponsors pay for. The tournament loses competitive and commercial gravity even if the tennis on court remains strong.

Players, coaches, and now events are all saying the same thing

The director's comments add institutional weight to a complaint that has been building for years. Players have spoken out publicly. Coaches have flagged injury risk. Now the events themselves, the entities that fill the ATP's calendar and revenue model, are saying the schedule does not work.

The ATP has made incremental adjustments, tweaking event lengths and spacing, but the core tension remains: the tour expects its biggest names at every marquee event, and the sport's physical demands make that less realistic each season. Sinner and Djokovic skipping the same Masters 1000 is not a one-off. It reflects a calendar that will face growing pressure as the game asks more from the bodies of its stars. The US Open is weeks away. Neither player needs Canadian Open points to protect his ranking. Arriving in New York fresher is, for both of them, the only rational choice the schedule leaves open.