LATEST NEWS! Alcaraz, Djokovic, Sinner May Face A Big “Sanction” After Their Absence Created A…

LATEST NEWS! Alcaraz, Djokovic, Sinner May Face A Big “Sanction” After Their Absence Created A…

absences addressed as former ATP star sends Canadian Open ‘drag on’ warning
Former ATP Tour star Sam Querrey has become the latest high-profile figure to criticise the Canadian Open scheduling this summer.
As with many Masters and WTA 1000 events, the Canadian Open has switched to an extended format from 2025 onwards, a decision that has raised eyebrows with some.
The move to a 12-day format, starting just two weeks after the conclusion of Wimbledon this summer, is seen as a key catalyst as to why so many big-name players have withdrawn from the event this season.
World No 1 Jannik Sinner and No 2 Carlos Alcaraz have both withdrawn following their runs to the Wimbledon final, with world No 6 Novak Djokovic another big-name player to have pulled out.
World No 5 Jack Draper, Grigor Dimitrov, and Tommy Paul are among the other notable absentees in Toronto, with WTA No 1 Aryna Sabalenka withdrawing from the women’s event in Montreal.
The Cincinnati Open, which follows on from the Canadian Open, is also switching to the multiple-week format this summer, and will get underway while action in Canada is still taking place.
Speaking on Nothing Major earlier this week, former world No 11 Querrey warned that the extended schedules, coupled with key absentees, will cause the Canadian Open to “drag on” this summer.
“The players don’t like it, the fans don’t like it, and now especially in Toronto with Carlos, Novak, Jannik and others pulling out,” said Querrey.
“We just had this great event in DC with an amazing final, and you got to watch Alex [de Minaur], and [Ben] Shelton and [Frances] Tiafoe.
“There is no momentum going into Toronto. I am not excited as a fan. I’m sure, yes, the players are excited. I’m sure those guys ranked like Zverev, Fritz, Musetti and Shelton, are like: ‘I can win this, possibly this year.’
“But it just is going to drag on. The next three and a half weeks of tennis is just going to drag on. Cincinnati is going to start while Toronto is still going on.
“Also Toronto had one round of qualies, I have never seen that before.”
The majority of Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 events are now held in the multiple-week format, something that was previously only used for Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
Both the clay-court combined 1000 events in Madrid and Rome were held over two weeks this spring, with further elongated events coming this Autumn.
The men will play a two-week Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, while the women will play a multiple-week event at the China Open in Beijing.
Controversy regarding the ATP Tour calendar is unlikely to go away any time soon, with world No 4 Taylor Fritz among the most recent critics.
The American played at the ATP 500 Citi DC Open last week, and has claimed that the extended Masters events, coupled with the ATP’s mandatory tournament requirements, were not beneficial for players.
Fritz said: “I’ll be honest, I don’t think it’s the best policy because I had an injury earlier this year and felt like a week off would have been great.
“A lot of the guys are prioritising the US Open and don’t want to come here, play this tournament, play in Cincinnati, and be exhausted for the US Open.
“So it’s just a matter of priorities. For me, obviously, being from North America, it’s a tournament I enjoy playing and I’m excited to be here, but I understand that for some of the Europeans, it might be a lot, and they probably want to prioritise the US Open.”