Ex-ATP Player Believes Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic’s Absence in Toronto Has Taken the “Excitement” From the Tournament

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will maintain their ranking position despite withdrawing from the Canadian Open.

Ex-ATP Player Believes Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic’s Absence in Toronto Has Taken the “Excitement” From the Tournament

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic (via The Tennis Letter)

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For the first time this season, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner will not be participating in a Masters 1000 event. The three stars withdrew from the Canadian Open for different reasons ahead of the US Open in August. Former ATP player Sam Querrey highlighted that their absence from the tournament has taken the excitement from it.

Djokovic, Alcaraz, and Sinner’s absence from the Canadian Open doesn’t come as a big surprise following their run at the Wimbledon Championships. They all reached the semi-finals at SW19, with Alcaraz and Sinner facing off in the final. The latter defeated the former to win his first grass-court Grand Slam.

However, Sinner, who had reached the quarter-finals in Toronto last year, was expected to play at the tournament, but the World No.1 withdrew over a week before the kick-off. Also, Alcaraz, Djokovic, and Sinner aren’t the only players to have withdrawn; World No.5 Jack Draper, Tommy Paul, Sebastian Korda, and Matteo Berrettini also followed suit.

This now gives the likes of Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, and Lorenzo Musetti a chance to win their first Masters 1000 title of the season. During a conversation on the Nothing Major podcast, Sam Querrey revealed that the absence of Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic has led to a lack of excitement about the Canadian Open:

The players don’t like it, the fans don’t like it, and now, especially in Toronto, with Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, and others pulling out, we have a tournament with a lot of notable absentees. There’s no excitement for this tournament. As a fan, I’m not excited.

Last year, Alcaraz and Djokovic did not compete at the Canadian Open after they had reached the final of the Paris Olympics singles. The duo went on vacation as they had competed at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the Olympics in less than three months. The tournament witnessed a new champion – Alexei Popyrin, who won his first Masters 1000 title.

Nonetheless, Sinner, Alcaraz, and Djokovic are expected to be back on the tour at the Cincinnati Open. Sinner will enter the tournament as the defending champion, while Alcaraz will seek to do better than his last year’s second-round exit. Meanwhile, Djokovic didn’t compete at the event in 2024 and might skip it this year, too.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are dominating the men’s circuit so far this season

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have dominated the men’s circuit for the past seven months. They have won seven titles combined, including the three Grand Slams already played this season. However, Alcaraz has had the better season in terms of titles and winning streak on the court.

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (3)
Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

The Spaniard has won five titles and played his best tennis during the clay season, where he won three titles. He won the Monte Carlo Masters before reaching the final of the Barcelona Open. He then claimed his third crown of the season by winning the Italian Open and delivered a mind-blowing comeback to win the French Open.

Sinner, on the other hand, claimed his first title this year, at the Australian Open before serving a three-month suspension for twice testing positive for clostebol in March last year. When he returned, he reached his first final at the Italian Open but lost the title to Alcaraz. He suffered the same fate at the French Open final as well.

Despite his poor start to the grass-court season at the Terra Wortmann Open, where he managed to win just one match before Alexander Bublik defeated him, he found his form at Wimbledon, winning his second Grand Slam of 2025.

Also Read: (In Pictures) Daniil Medvedev Creates a Unique ‘Sad Clown’ Celebration at the Canadian Open