John Isner Shares a Three-Word Reaction to Explain his Dismay of the North American Summer Calendar

The Canadian Open is being played over 12 days with a Thursday final, and the Cincinnati Open has extended to 14 days with a Monday final.

John Isner Shares a Three-Word Reaction to Explain his Dismay of the North American Summer Calendar

John Isner (via AP News)

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Tennis players and fans have been deeply unhappy with the changes in the North American hard-court swing this year. This season, the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open both expanded from 56-player singles fields to 96-player fields. With the new fields, both events shifted to an extended format, with the Canadian Open being played over 12 days (with a Thursday final) and the Cincinnati Open moving to 14 days (with a Monday final).

These changes limit the amount of rest time for top players, many of whom have withdrawn from the Canadian Open this year. In the WTA event, top seed Aryna Sabalenka withdrew citing fatigue while the ATP event has seen mass withdrawals including Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper, and Novak Djokovic.

Several players like Ben Shelton and Jessica Pegula have criticized the two-week format. Retired American tennis star John Isner recently responded to a post on X expressing his dissatisfaction with the new format, writing, “It’s so bad.”

Fans are quite unhappy with the finals being on a weekday as opposed to a weekend. Further ahead in the US Open, the new mixed doubles format has drawn a wide range of reactions. The two-day event has been moved to the first week of the US Open–Fan Week featuring 16 teams, with eight teams receiving direct entry based on their combined singles ranking and eight teams receiving wild-card entries.

While some are excited about it, seeing top-ranked singles players pairing up for the event, others are disappointed with the new changes and rules.

ATP semifinal at the Canadian Open

The men’s Canadian Open semifinal will feature top seed Alexander Zverev against Karen Khachanov. The German has a 5-2 head-to-head record over Khachanov having won the last three encounters. Their biggest match-up took place at the Tokyo Olympics final where Zverev defeated Khachanov in straight sets. They have met before at the Canadian Open in 2019 where the Russian defeated Zverev in straight sets in the quarterfinal.

Alexander Zverev Canadian Open 2025
Alexander Zverev (image via National Bank Open)

Zverev, who is into his first Masters 1000 semifinal of the year, has achieved some remarkable milestones throughout the tournament, including his career’s 500th match win at the third-round in Toronto and recently claiming his 155th career match win at an ATP Masters 1000 events, equalling Grigor Dimitrov for the most of any player born since 1990.

On the other hand, two Americans- Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz will meet in an ATP 1000 semifinal for the first time since the 2010 Cincinnati Open where Mardy Fish met Andy Roddick. Shelton is into his maiden Masters 1000 semifinal and has a 0-1 head-to-head record over Fritz, having met on hard-court before.

WTA semifinal at the Canadian Open

The WTA 1000 event in Canada has seen some remarkable performances. 18-year-old home hope Victoria Mboko is into her maiden WTA semifinal, having defeated two Grand Slam champions en route. The Canadian will next face another Grand Slam champion Elena Rybakina in the semifinal.

Elena Rybakina, Victoria Mboko
Elena Rybakina, Victoria Mboko (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, Team Canada)

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka is delivering a strong comeback performance having reached her first WTA 1000 semifinal since the Miami Open in 2022. She will meet Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the semifinal who is yet to drop a set in Montreal.

Tauson is into her career’s second WTA 1000 semifinal and has defeated two Grand Slam champions on her way. She has also had a strong hard-court season reaching four WTA semifinals on the surface this year.

Also Read: Elina Svitolina Shares Abusive Messages from Angry Bettors After Canadian Open Defeat to Naomi Osaka