Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the two leading names on the ATP Tour in 2025.
Sinner and Alcaraz have won the last seven Grand Slam titles between them, dating back to the 2024 Australian Open.
The most recent of those came at Wimbledon, where Sinner beat Alcaraz in a four-set final.
After their second Grand Slam title against one another, both Alcaraz and Sinner withdrew from the Canadian Open which has exposed a big issue on the ATP Tour.
The ATP Tour needs to change their calendar after Canadian Open withdrawals
The Canadian Open is the first ATP/WTA 1000 tournament of the North American hard court swing that will take place in Toronto and Montreal, respectively, this year.
However, for the first time in the tournament’s history, the Canadian Open will be held over two weeks this year, as the ATP and WTA Tours continue their expansion of 1000 level events to 12 days.
This will also be the case for the Cincinnati Open, meaning there are now fewer weeks between Wimbledon and the Canadian Open.
In 2025, there are only two weeks of tennis between the conclusion of Wimbledon and the Canadian Open, giving players who reached the latter stages of the grass court major little turnaround.
As a result, this has caused multiple big names to pull out already, with Sinner, Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper already withdrawing from the men’s event.
This is not exclusive to the men’s tournament, with Aryna Sabalenka already confirming she will not be playing the Canadian Open in 2025.
Sabalenka has never missed the Canadian Open before, proving that this lack of time between Wimbledon and the North American hard court swing is having a significant impact.
The ATP/WTA 1000 tournaments are supposed to be the closest thing to Grand Slams, but the Canadian Open is starting to feel nothing like that, with it expected that more big names will pull out.
Alcaraz has previously criticised two-week Masters 1000 events, with this being the latest unnecessary issue that the ATP and WTA Tours have created, which consequently impacts great tournaments like the Canadian Open.
From the 19 ATP/WTA 1000 tournaments, 14 of those have now been extended to take place over a two-week period.
However, the already released 2026 calendar means that next year there will be three weeks between Wimbledon and the Canadian Open, which should hopefully give players like Sinner and Alcaraz more time to recover.
Former champions of the Canadian Open
The Canadian Open has produced some first-time 1000 level champions before, including Sinner who won his first title at this level in 2023.
Last year was no different in the ATP draw, with Alexei Popyrin winning the Canadian Open after some big names withdrew following the Paris Olympics.
The two other first time ATP/WTA 1000 level champions that have emerged since 2020 are Pablo Carreno Busta and Camila Giorgi.
| Year | Men’s Champion | Women’s Champion |
| 2021 | Daniil Medvedev (4th ATP 1000 title) | Camila Giorgi (1st and only WTA 1000 title) |
| 2022 | Pablo Carreno Busta (1st and only ATP 1000 title) | Simona Halep (9th WTA 1000 title) |
| 2023 | Jannik Sinner (1st ATP 1000 title) | Jessica Pegula (2nd WTA 1000 title) |
| 2024 | Alexei Popyrin (1st and only ATP 1000 title) | Jessica Pegula (3rd WTA 1000 title) |
After the big name withdrawals from this year’s tournament, there is a big opportunity for other players to win the biggest title of their careers.
In the men’s Canadian Open event in Montreal, the current top four seeds are Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Lorenzo Musetti and Ben Shelton.
While in the women’s tournament in Toronto, world number two Coco Gauff, Wimbledon winner Iga Swiatek, defending champion Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva headline the field.
The Canadian Open will get underway in just a week’s time, when it will be clearer to see just how much of an impact the changed schedule has had on the lineup.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
