For the 2nd straight year, the National Bank Open is preparing to stage a major tournament without the men used to sell it.
Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have withdrawn from Montreal, joining Carlos Alcaraz on the absentee list. Sinner’s exit carries the sharpest sporting cost. The world No. 1 had captured the first 5 Masters 1000 titles of 2026 at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome. His attempt to sweep all 9 events is now over without anyone beating him on court.
Djokovic, now 39, continues to manage his workload after another deep Wimbledon run. Alcaraz remains unavailable because of a wrist injury. Their absence pushes Alexander Zverev to the top seed, with Félix Auger Aliassime rising to No. 2 in front of his home crowd.
Montreal still has a strong draw. What it no longer has is the field many fans believed they had paid to see.
Sinner’s Historic Run Ends Away From The Court
Sinner did not skip Montreal after a quiet month. He had just completed another demanding Wimbledon campaign, playing 7 matches across 2 weeks before lifting the trophy.
That run followed a near perfect opening half of the season. Sinner entered the Wimbledon final with a 43 and 3 record, then defeated Zverev to retain his title. The victory left him with 44 wins from 47 matches and another major trophy to add to his growing collection.
His Masters record was even more striking. Sinner swept Indian Wells and Miami on hard courts, then carried that dominance into the European clay season. Victories in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome gave him 5 consecutive Masters titles in 2026.
Including the 2025 Paris Masters, ATP records credit Sinner with 6 straight titles at that level and 34 consecutive Masters match wins.
Montreal qualifying begins less than 3 weeks after the Wimbledon final. That period must include recovery, travel and preparation for a switch from grass to hard courts. Sinner decided that another long tournament was 1 demand too many.
His withdrawal is not evidence that he has lost interest in Masters events. The opposite is true. He had dominated them. The calendar simply gave him a reason to step away while he was still unbeaten.
Djokovic faces a different calculation but arrives at the same answer. His Wimbledon run included more than 5 hours on court against Auger Aliassime in the quarterfinals before Sinner stopped him in the semifinals.
At 39, Djokovic can still challenge the best players at the biggest tournaments. Staying capable of doing so means refusing to play every week placed in front of him.
Montreal Is Suddenly Selling A Different Event
The original Montreal entry list included 71 of the world’s top 72 players. Organisers promoted it as 1 of the strongest fields in tournament history.
Within weeks, Sinner, Djokovic and Alcaraz were gone.
Tournament staff can update a website quickly. Television networks can edit promotional reels and replace footage of absent stars. Advertising banners around the city are harder to change, and fans cannot simply cancel flights, hotels or expensive tickets without losing money.
A seat inside IGA Stadium will still provide elite tennis. It will not provide the tournament many supporters expected when they made their plans.
This is where the problem moves beyond a routine withdrawal. Injuries and fatigue have always changed tennis draws. Losing the same 3 superstars for a 2nd consecutive year feels less like bad luck and more like a warning about where Montreal sits in the season.
National Bank Open tournament director Valérie Tétreault has acknowledged both sides of that tension. Player health must come first, but supporters also make plans and spend money based on the advertised field.
Tétreault captured the frustration surrounding the withdrawals when she said, “Fans rightfully expect to see the world’s best compete.”
Both positions can be true. Athletes should not risk injury to satisfy an entry list, but an event cannot keep selling the promise of a complete elite field if the schedule repeatedly makes that promise unrealistic.
Zverev will now headline the draw after winning the French Open and finishing as the Wimbledon runner up. Auger Aliassime becomes the No. 2 seed and the leading Canadian hope.
ATP records list that position as the highest seeding achieved by a Canadian man at the tournament in the Open Era, surpassing the peak reached by Milos Raonic. It is a significant moment for Auger Aliassime, although it arrives through circumstances the organisers would have preferred to avoid.
The 12 Day Format Is Part Of The Problem
Montreal is entering an expanded format featuring 96 players across 12 days. The top 32 seeds receive opening round byes, giving the biggest names more time between matches.
That extra day is often presented as recovery. Players do not always see it that way.
A day without a match is not a true break when an athlete remains inside a tournament routine. Practice, treatment, media duties and preparation continue. Families stay at home while another event consumes almost 2 weeks of the season.
Zverev has been 1 of the strongest critics of the expanded Masters model. He has argued that players would rather complete an event in 1 week than spend additional days waiting between rounds. In his view, shorter tournaments such as Monte Carlo and Paris allow players to arrive, compete and leave without losing another full week to the road.
His criticism now carries extra weight. Montreal needs him to replace the very stars who decided the event did not fit their schedules.
The ATP has built a trap of its own making. Longer Masters tournaments produce more matches, ticket sessions and broadcast inventory. They can also create more earning opportunities for lower ranked players.
For the elite group, however, each expansion removes another possible recovery week from an 11 month season. When 7 of the 9 Masters tournaments occupy 12 days, skipping 1 becomes the easiest way to create a break.
Sinner and Djokovic are not exploiting the calendar. They are responding logically to it.
Grand Slam results will define their seasons and careers. No ranking incentive can make Montreal as important as arriving healthy in New York.
Cincinnati Shows Where The Priorities Sit
Sinner, Djokovic and Alcaraz are all expected to return in Cincinnati. That tournament provides the final major test before the U.S. Open begins on August 30.
Their expected return makes Montreal’s position uncomfortable. The 3 stars are not abandoning the North American hard court season. They are choosing which part of it best serves their preparation for the final Grand Slam of the year.
Montreal can still produce an excellent champion. Zverev, Auger Aliassime, Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev give the tournament quality and several compelling paths to the title.
None of that erases the wider issue.
The ATP has stretched its flagship regular tour events closer to Grand Slam length while leaving the Grand Slams as the clear priority. Players have responded by creating their own rest periods.
This week, Montreal is the event they chose to sacrifice.
Another dramatic final may help supporters forget the withdrawals once play begins. It will not fix a calendar that encourages the world’s best players to treat a Masters 1000 tournament as the safest week to miss.
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FAQs
Q1. Why did Jannik Sinner withdraw from the Montreal Masters?
Sinner chose to prioritize his health after playing seven Wimbledon matches. Montreal begins less than three weeks after the Wimbledon final.
Q2. Why is Novak Djokovic not playing in Montreal?
Djokovic is managing his workload at age 39. His Wimbledon campaign included a quarterfinal lasting more than five hours.
Q3. Is Carlos Alcaraz playing at the 2026 National Bank Open?
No. Alcaraz withdrew because of a wrist injury and joins Sinner and Djokovic on Montreal’s absentee list.
Q4. Who are the top seeds in Montreal without Sinner and Djokovic?
Alexander Zverev is the No. 1 seed. Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime moves up to the No. 2 position.
Q5. Why are players criticizing the 12-day Masters format?
Players say rest days still include practice, treatment and media work. The longer events also remove valuable recovery weeks from the season.
