Canadian Open Organizers ‘Don’t Care’ About Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic’s Participation

Three high-profile names won’t be competing at the Canadian Open this year. And they are obviously Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic.

The Serb’s absence was expected since he hasn’t played in the tournament since his third-round exit in 2018. Alcaraz withdrew because of his wrist injury, but he is scheduled to play the Cincinnati Masters, where he received a walkover from Sinner in the final last year.

Sinner’s withdrawal was questioned. Because he won the first five Masters 1000s of the season and also completed the Career Golden Masters, he was expected to chase the historic Golden Masters, which no player has achieved yet.

Sinner, however, prioritized rest and recovery and withdrew. And perhaps the reason was to avoid the French Open fate. After his wins in the first back-to-back Masters 1000s, the World No.1 suffered a physical setback in the second round of the French Open and lost the match in a dramatic fashion.

But the three men were told that the Canadian Open organizers don’t really care about their absence. The Canadian Open, as well as the Cincinnati Masters, became two-week events last year, so the expansion of the calendar was blamed for Sinner’s absence. But according to Sam Querrey, the organizers would rather have a two-week event without the three players.

Do you think the Canadian Masters would rather have a 12-day-long tournament without Carlos, Jannik, and Novak, or have a seven-day tournament with those three in? I swear, I think they would rather have the 12-day tournament without them. I think they don’t care anymore. I think they’d rather take 12 days of TV rights in this. And I still think they don’t care. As bad as that sounds, I don’t think so.

Sam Querrey said on the Nothing Major podcast

Co-host Steve Johnson also shared the same opinion. Johnson, like many fans, wanted to watch the three players in action.

I’m with you. I wish it was a seven-day event, and all these guys would play, but I don’t think the tournaments or the sponsors really care because the sponsorship is done so far in advance. It’s not like they’re pulling funding now because these guys are out, in my opinion.

The main draw of the Canadian Open starts on August 2. Ben Shelton will compete as the defending champion.

Patrick McEnroe on Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s game styles

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner play different tennis, said Patrick McEnroe. And Sinner knows this. After losing in four sets to Alcaraz in the 2025 US Open final, Sinner said he wanted to become more unpredictable.

The one aspect of the game that Sinner improved a lot is his serve. He hit 128 aces at Wimbledon and was broken just once, in the first round by Miomir Kecmanovic.

He’s trying to develop his game so he can continue to compete with Alcaraz tournament in and tournament out. But this guy is awesome too, he has won four majors already. He has taken the ball-striking ability off the ground to another level, he just doesn’t quite have as much variety of shot as Alcaraz. But boy, he hits the ball as well off the ground strokes as I have ever seen!

Patrick McEnroe said (H/T: Tennis World USA)

While Sinner has so far won six titles this season from the same number of finals, Alcaraz has lifted two titles from three finals. He defeated Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final to become the youngest man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam. Then in Doha, he beat Arthur Fils. Sinner stopped him from defending the Monte Carlo title.

Also read: Serena Williams’ Coach Comes to Venus Williams’ Defense After Controversial Comment on Maya Joint