Canadian Open Faces Backlash Over Schedule Changes

Stars Withdraw, Players Criticize Conditions Amidst Calendar Shift

The Canadian Open is under fire this year, with several high-profile players opting out of the tournament. Disruptions stem from significant schedule alterations, including a compressed timeline between major events.

Player Dissatisfaction Mounts

Key figures such as Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, and Carlos Alcaraz have withdrawn from the men’s event. On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka also decided to skip the WTA tournament. Beyond these absences, Frances Tiafoe publicly labeled the Canadian Open ‘garbage‘ due to a recent change. Additionally, Alexander Zverev described the playing conditions as ‘ridiculous‘.

Tournament Directors Address Criticisms

Responding to the mounting criticism, the tournament directors of the Canadian Open have offered explanations and addressed potential future changes.

WTA Director Explains Calendar Impact

For the first time, the Canadian Open is extended to 12 days, concluding finals on a Thursday rather than the traditional Sunday. This shift brings it in line with the extended Cincinnati Open schedule. The tighter window, with only two weeks separating Wimbledon and the Canadian Open, is cited as a primary cause for player withdrawals.

Valerie Tetreault, former player and tournament director for the women’s event, stated during a press conference that there are currently no plans to alternate the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open’s calendar placement. However, she anticipates fewer withdrawals in 2026.

“On the first question, it’s not part of any discussion right now, you know, the possibility of alternating between Cincinnati and Canada in terms of the weeks in the calendar. That being said, I do think that this year we were probably more impacted because of the two weeks in between Wimbledon and our tournament.”

—Valerie Tetreault, WTA Canadian Open Tournament Director

Tetreault added that the longer gap in 2026, which will see three weeks between Wimbledon and the National Bank Open, should alleviate recovery time issues for players who advance deep at Wimbledon.

“The good news is that 2026 and 2027 will be what we call the long summer calendar. So we’ll have an extra week, so there will be, again, three weeks in between Wimbledon and the National Bank Open. I do think that will make a difference.

I think it allows basically anyone who goes pretty deep at Wimbledon to still have somewhere close to a week to take some time off and recover before they can start thinking again about the hard court season. So I think, unfortunately, this year was clearly not ideal.

I’m a little bit relieved that in Montreal we weren’t too impacted. I think in the end, there’s only Aryna Sabalenka really who made the choice to skip Montreal to have a little bit extra time. The other players who weren’t here, it was mostly for longer-term injuries and nothing that had to do of a choice of playing or not Montreal.”

ATP Director Expresses Disappointment Over Absences

While only Sabalenka withdrew from the women’s event for reasons other than injury, the men’s tournament saw seven seeded players, including Sinner and Alcaraz, pull out. Karl Hale, tournament director for the men’s Canadian Open, admitted his disappointment.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s a really good question. The good news is that Sunday was sold out, and nobody knew who the matchups were. So tennis is doing extremely well in this marketplace.

We are obviously disappointed in the withdrawals, but we’ve spoken to the players. We have spoken to the tour, Andrea [Gaudenzi], the CEO of ATP, is coming this week, so we’ll have discussions with him about how to improve situation.

It’s a new 12-day model, so we’ll work through the process, but we’re very happy with it to date, and we’ll continue growing as we move along.”

—Karl Hale, ATP Canadian Open Tournament Director

Hale plans to discuss player concerns with ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi. The Canadian Open concludes with finals on Thursday, August 7, before the focus shifts to Cincinnati. Notably, Sinner, Alcaraz, Djokovic, and Sabalenka are all still in the draw for the Cincinnati Open, highlighting the impact of the extended Masters 1000 events on the preceding Canadian tournament.

After many consecutive weeks of competition without rest, I will not be able to play in Toronto this year. I have small muscles issues and I need to recover physically and mentally for what comes next. To the tournament and to my fans in Canada I am very sorry, I will see you…

— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) July 21, 2025