'We’re very happy with 12-day model': Toronto Open director addresses Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz's absences

Nick Hale, the director of the Toronto Open, has addressed the massive number of star withdrawals from the tournament, following the exits of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic, among other major stars from both the ATP and WTA. Other figures like Aryna Sabalenka, Jack Draper, and Paula Badosa also decided to skip the tournament—Toronto for men and Montreal for women—for different reasons.

The tournament lamented the mass withdrawal of top players this year, which is partly attributed to the timing of the event. For European players, for example, they preferred to take a few extra days to physically recover after Wimbledon before traveling to North America, where major tournaments are played for about a month and a half, including the Canadian Open, Cincinnati Open, and US Open.

The Toronto director, Nick Hale, expressed disappointment that four of the most important names on the Tour were absent from this year's men's edition in Canada. "Yeah, I mean, it’s a really good question. The good news is that Sunday was sold out, and nobody knew who the matchups were. So tennis is doing extremely well in this marketplace."

Toronto Open Director discusses changes and player fatigue

The two players who have led the Tour in recent years—Sinner and Alcaraz—both decided to skip the Canadian Open. After reaching the finals at the French Open and Wimbledon, they will wait before returning to competition in Cincinnati and the US Open.

They were joined by 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, who is also physically and mentally recovering for his upcoming challenges. "We are obviously disappointed in the withdrawals, but we’ve spoken to the players. We have spoken to the tour. Andrea, the CEO of ATP, is coming this week, so we’ll have discussions with him about how to improve the situation."

"It’s a new 12-day model, so we’ll work through the process, but we’re very happy with it to date, and we’ll continue growing as we move along."

The Canadian Open lasts a total of 12 days, and the Cincinnati Open another 12 days, making both tournaments span just over three weeks. Both tournaments have expanded their draws to 96 players, although with 32 seeds, so none of the top 32 players in each ranking play in the first round.

Notable absences from the Canadian Open

Four of the top-6 stars on the men's side withdrew from the tournament in the days leading up to it, led by world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who was the first to announce he would take a break. Hours later, it was announced that Novak Djokovic had made the same decision for scheduling reasons, to protect his physical condition ahead of upcoming commitments.

Carlos Alcaraz was another who announced his absence from the tournament to take a longer break, the same decision that women's world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka made.

It wasn't just the busy schedule and the length of the tournament that led to the absence of some of the tournament's biggest stars; many others were forced to withdraw due to injury. This is the case for Jack Draper, who will also miss the Canadian Open and will return at the US Open, as will Spain's Paula Badosa (No. 10), who decided to skip both WTA 1000 tournaments due to a lower back injury. In addition, China's Zheng Qinwen (No. 6) recently underwent surgery and will not even be available for the year's fourth Grand Slam, with her return expected in October during the Asian swing.