Ben Shelton was blunt about Jannik Sinner’s decision: “How could he do that?”

Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal has caused quite a stir: many have criticized the world No. 1’s decision to skip Montreal and give up on his goal of winning all the Masters 1000 tournaments in a calendar year. Among them, however, is not Ben Shelton, who fully understood the Italian’s decision and appreciated his reasons.

“For the tournaments and for the players, I’m not sure the current structure of the tour is sustainable in the long run,” Shelton explained in Washington. “I think the biggest problem I’m seeing is injuries. Take someone like Sinner, who’s winning all the matches he’s winning: the number of matches he’s playing is extremely high. How can a player handle every tournament?”

“I don’t think something like that is sustainable,” the American continued. “Jannik knows his own body better than anyone else, just like all players. If Jannik and Novak felt physically and mentally ready, they’d play. In my opinion, they don’t skip a tournament without a reason.”

Former player Greg Rusedski is on the same page as the American tennis star: “Let’s go back to what happened at Roland Garros. He had won all the Masters 1000 tournaments leading up to it. Then, in Paris, he was a bit fatigued. So this time, he decided to focus on preparing to win the U.S. Open. He wants to win his second Grand Slam title this year. He wants to finish the season as the world No. 1. But the season is simply too long. He never makes the same mistake twice. That’s what makes him brilliant. And that’s why we need to look at what he’s already accomplished in his career and where he wants to go.”