Montreal: Tournament Director Speaks Out After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal

On Friday, Jannik Sinner announced his decision not to compete in the Montreal Masters 1000: The Italian has passed up the chance to win all the 1000-level tournaments in a single season, choosing instead to rest and recharge his energy ahead of the U.S. Open, his main goal for the second half of the season.

The South Tyrolean explained his decision as follows: “After carefully evaluating all the factors together with my team, we made the difficult decision to withdraw from Montreal. It’s never easy to skip such an important event, but we believe this is the right decision to prioritize my health. I’m sorry I won’t be able to be there, but I look forward to returning to Montreal in the future”.

In addition to Sinner, Novak Djokovic has also decided to withdraw, and Carlos Alcaraz—who is still recovering from a wrist injury—will not be there either. Valérie Tétreault, the tournament director, commented on the recent withdrawals with some bitterness: “We are obviously very disappointed that Jannik and Novak won’t be joining us in Montreal this year, especially since they also withdrew from last year’s tournament in Toronto.”

“We respect their decisions and understand that, with such a demanding schedule, the players’ health must remain the priority. That said, we believe the frequency of these last-minute withdrawals in recent years raises a broader issue for our sport. The Masters 1000 tournaments are among the most important on the circuit, and fans rightly expect to see the world’s best players compete.”

The focus, more than on the players themselves, is on the ATP’s decision to spread the Masters 1000 tournaments over two weeks—a move that is not yielding the desired results and is, in fact, prompting more and more top players to withdraw.