By Rory Carroll
Key Factors
The Canadian Open’s men’s event in Montreal was hit by the withdrawals of world number one Jannik Sinner and 24-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, while Carlos Alcaraz was also sidelined with a wrist injury. Tournament organisers said last month that recurring late withdrawals from Masters 1000 events had become a wider issue for the sport. Hometown favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime also pulled out due to a back injury before his opening match.
On the women’s side, defending champion Victoria Mboko, Wimbledon finalist Karolina Muchova, Emma Raducanu and Jasmine Paolini are also missing the tournament with injuries.
The players’ advocacy group said it was saddened but not surprised by the absences from the tournament, arguing that reduced recovery time between tournaments was contributing to injuries occurring earlier in the season and becoming more serious. The first quarter-final matches of the tournament begin later on Monday.
Evidence and Data
Robby Sikka. The PTPA called for the sport to take a player-health and data-driven approach to restructuring the calendar. The PTPA said it had collected and analysed injury data from more than 30,000 professional matches across all levels of the game over the past eight years in a project launched three years ago with its medical director, Dr.
It said players should have a meaningful role in shaping the schedule, while mandatory tournament commitments should be reduced to allow adequate recovery.
