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Jannik Sinner’s decision to withdraw from the Canadian Open has caused mass debate about the tournament, the schedule, and the implementation of the two-week Masters format.

Many pundits and former professionals have backed Sinner’s decision to miss the Montreal event for a second consecutive years, while there is more of an air of disappointment with fans.

Fans are not only upset they will not get to see Sinner in action, but that he won’t be able to become the first player in tennis history to claim every Masters event in the calendar year.

The Canadian Open could have been Sinner’s sixth Masters event in a row in 2026, with just three more to claim in the rest of the year, but that will no longer happen.

As the debate rumbles on, Rennae Stubbs has had her say on Sinner’s decision to miss the Masters event.

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Speaking on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, the Grand Slam champion said: “I don’t blame Jannik for not playing. It was a bear of a schedule for him, doing what he did.

“He played all those clay court tournaments, lost that really tough match at the French, then goes and wins Wimbledon. He does not play anything prior. Maybe he learnt a lesson about the load of tennis which he did before the French.

“Then people have the audacity to be like he has an opportunity to win all the Masters 1000 this year, why wouldn’t he do it? “Do you think he cares about that? He has so many records now for being the youngest to do this and that. He has just won Wimbledon.

“His only thinking right now is how can I win the US Open, so not playing in Canada clearly opens up the book a little bit for him to get the rest that he needs then do the work load in Cincinnati.”

It’s worth noting that Sinner also withdrew from the Canadian Open last year and it did not result in a tournament victory on the North American hardcourt swing.

The world No 1 exited the Cincinnati Open in the final after he retired in his match against Carlos Alcaraz due to illness, when he was 5-0 down in the first set.

Sinner went on to reach the final of the US Open following the Cincinnati event, but he faced the same result against Alcaraz in the final at Flushing Meadows.

The star will be hoping his decision to miss the Canadian Open this year will prove more fruitful for him.

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Alexandra Eala and Venus Williams were set to play doubles once again at the Washington Open, but the Filipina decided against it just before the beginning of the tournament.

Eala and Williams had previously made their doubles debut at Bad Homburg, where they reached the quarter finals of the grass court tournament.

The pair appeared on the entry list for Washington, but Eala was swiftly replaced with Diana Shnaider before the beginning of the tournament.

In her pre-tournament press conference, Williams explained the reason behind the sudden shift.

“We had a great time playing at Bad Homburg so we were looking forward to playing again.” said Williams. “Didn’t work out this time. Would love for there to be future times. We’ll see what happens.”

Eala divulged more information on the reason she rejected Williams, suggesting she wanted to focus all of her attention on the singles draw.

“I have so much respect for Venus. I am so grateful for every opportunity that I have to be around her, to learn from her, to hit with her,” said the 21-year-old.

“But I do think this is my first week coming back, and I think that Venus is someone who deserves a partner who can give their all physically, emotionally, mentally when they’re on court with her.

“I think right now I think I can only do that for singles. I don’t have the capacity yet to be able to give that in both singles and doubles. I’m really grateful for the opportunity that I had, or have, and hopefully we see more of it in the future.”

Now, Andy Roddick has had his say on the snub and he has backed Eala’s decision to turn down the chance to play with the multi-time Grand Slam champion once again.

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“If I was a young player, I would be submitting my resume to play with Venus as long as she’s out there. I just think that would be so cool,” said the American on Served.

“So, I’m happy Eala already got to do it, but like irrespective of if it’s Venus or someone else, you still have to be responsible to your body.

“And the goal of the summer is to make runs at these tournaments and I don’t think Eala’s at the point where she’s prioritising doubles over singles.”

Eala begins her Washington Open campaign against Qinwen Zheng in the first round. The Chinese star, who is an Olympic Gold Medalist and former Grand Slam finalist, has been given a wildcard by the American tournament.

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Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will not be playing the Canadian Open for the second consecutive year and it’s left the Masters event lacking in star power.

Alcaraz is missing the event due to his wrist injury and he is expected to return to tennis a couple of weeks later at the Cincinnati Open.

Sinner, meanwhile, has decided not to play the Montreal event so soon after lifting the Wimbledon title, stating he is prioritising his health.

It’s left the Canadian Open in a sticky situation yet again, which many believe is down to the extended 12-day Masters format at the event.

Since the 2024 season, most Masters events were expanded to 12-days rather than the traditional week-long tournaments, much to the chagrin of the top players on the ATP Tour.

Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson, speaking on Nothing Major, believe the tournament don’t mind about the mass withdrawals as long as they are receiving the television money for nearly two weeks.

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“Do you think the Canadian Masters would rather have a 12-day long tournament without Carlos, Jannik, and Novak, or have a 7-day tournament with those three in? I swear, I think they would rather have the 12-day tournament without them,” said Querrey.

“I think they don’t care anymore. I think they’d rather take 12 days of TV rights in this. And I still think they don’t care. As bad as that sounds, I don’t think so.

Johnson was in agreement with his fellow podcast host.

“I’m with you. I wish it was a seven-day event and all these guys would play, but I don’t think the tournaments or the sponsors really care because they’re the sponsorship is done so far in advance,” he added.

“It’s not like they’re pulling funding now because these guys are these guys are out in my opinion.”

The top seeds at the Canadian Open this year will be Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alex de Minaur, and Daniil Medvedev.

Novak Djokovic, Tomas Machac, and Sebastian Korda have also confirmed they will not be playing the Masters event.

Last year was the same, with Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic opting out of the event, which was taken advantage of by Ben Shelton who lifted his first Masters title.

He defeated Karen Khachanov in the final, so he will be defending the full 1000 points at this year’s event.

As for the 12-day Masters format, it looks like it’s here to stay, with many tournament organisers and the ATP Tour praising the expansion, despite the protests of the top players in tennis.

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Jannik Sinner made headlines when he decided to withdraw from the Canadian Open, particularly as he missed out on a major slice of tennis history.

The World No 1 was on track to win all nine Masters in the calendar year, something no other player in tennis history had managed.

Sinner had already won Indian Wells, the Miami Open, the Monte Carlo Masters, the Madrid Open, and the Italian Open, so he only had four to go.

Many expected Sinner would play the Canadian Open in an attempt to continue that streak, but that did not come to fruition as the Italian dropped out of the tournament alongside Novak Djokovic.

Sinner has been widely praised for his decision by former professionals and pundits, and many have suggested it is due to the new two-week format of Masters events.

Many Masters events, including the Canadian Open, have expanded to 12-days rather than the traditional seven days, and it’s been very controversial with the players.

Andy Roddick, speaking on Served, believes that is the biggest reason why Sinner has decided not to play the Montreal event for the second consecutive year.

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“I saw Jannik after he won Wimbledon and I said, “What’s next?” And he goes, “Some rest.” And so, in my mind, you don’t kind of project your opinion on what someone’s saying. And I can’t come on here and say that, you know, he says that, therefore I think Canada’s out. But in my own mind, I’m going, okay, that means Canada’s out,” he said, before suggesting Sinner could miss more tournaments in the foreseeable.

“It’s tough. It’s kind of one of those weird things where it’s kind of be careful what you wish for. You know, is Jannik next year, this is another one that’s interesting. Like he pulls out of this. Is next year with going to Roland Garros and with kind of his tennis being almost perfect going in, but his body giving out, does he skip some of the claycourt stuff next year to get his body right to kind of prioritize fitness at Roland Garros?,” he said.

“It’s a lot easier to make the decision to let something go when it’s a two-week commitment as opposed to coming over and saying, “I’m going to get tons of matches in two weeks and then have a week off before the US Open.” You know, I don’t know. It’s just different.”

Sinner played all three clay court Masters events before Roland Garros, which many believe is one of the key reasons why he capitulated at the French Grand Slam.

The Italian lost his way in the second round against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, despite taking a two set lead against the Argentine. He eventually lost the match in five sets and he still has not won a Roland Garros title.

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The US Open Mixed Doubles Challenge has announced its 2026 entry list and Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams are nowhere to be seen.

The event took place for the first time in 2025 as top singles star were placed together in the first week of the US Open with $1 million in prize money on the line.

The tournament was won by Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who will be back in the tournament to defend their crown at the Flushing Meadows event.

Last year saw teams such as Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilović, and Amanda Anisimova and Holger Rune, but none of those teams are back for the 2026 event. 

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Novak Djokovic will team with Aryna Sabalenka this year and they are one of four ‘headline’ couples announced by the American Grand Slam.

They will compete against Casper Ruud and Iga Swiatek and Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula, both of whom were paired together for the 2025 event.

Elsewhere, there will be North American duo Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe, brother-sister team Peyton Stearns and Preston Stearns, and brand-new team Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien.

• Novak Djokovic & Aryna Sabalenka
• Casper Ruud & Iga Swiatek
• Jack Draper & Jessica Pegula
• Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe
• Peyton Stearns & Preston Stearns
• Taylor Townsend & Alexander Zverev
• Elena Rybakina & Taylor Fritz
• Belinda Bencic & Flavio Cobolli
• Sara Errani & Andrea Vavassori
• Alexandra Eala & Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Naomi Osaka & Kei Nishikori
• Diana Shnaider and Daniil Medvedev
• Amanda Anisimova & Learner Tien
• Katerina Siniakova & Henry Patten
• Elena-Gabriel Ruse & Nuno Borges
• Mirra Andreeva & Andrey Rublev

Alex Eala will be making her debut at the tournament and she will be playing alongside Felix Auger-Aliassime. Other starrry duo who have signed up for the tournament are Alexander Zverev and Taylor Townsend, Diana Shnaider and Daniil Medvedev, and Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev.

Kei Nishikori, who will play the event for the first time in what is his final year in tennis, is set to be partnered with Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.

In a statement, new USTA chief executive Craig Tiley said: “Anytime you can bring women and men together on the same team, you showcase tennis at its best.”

Eight more sets of names are set to be added as wildcards, so there is still hope for fans wanting to see Alcaraz at the Grand Slam pre-event.

Alcaraz has been widely rumoured to be pairing with Williams, who herself returned to tennis during the grass court swing in June. She played Queen’s, the Berlin Open, and Wimbledon.

In the latter, she played in the singles, where she lost in the first round to Maya Joint. The star was set to play doubles alongside Venus Williams, but a knee injury forced her out of the competition.

The post US Open mixed doubles: Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka, and Alexandra Eala partners announced appeared first on Tennis365.

For years, Kei Nishikori flew the flag for Asian tennis and his trailblazing as seen a whole new generation of stars come through.

Nishikori has been as high as World No 4 in the ATP Tour rankings in his career and he collected 12 career titles between 2008 and 2019.

The Japanese star is playing out the final year of his career, but he will be buoyed by the number of talented Asian players at the top of the sport.

The likes of Naomi Osaka, Alexandra Eala, Janice Tjen, and Xinyu Wang, are all currently inside the top 50 of the WTA Tour rankings.

Nishikori has been particularly impressed by Eala in the past two years, after her breakout two seasons on the WTA Tour in 2025 and 2026.

Speaking at the Washington Open, Nishikori said Eala has what it takes to continue to climb up the rankings, after she recently secured a career high spot of World No 26.

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“I hope she can jump up again,” said Nishikori. “She has been playing well the last two years. She has a lot of weapons. She can be top 10 if she can stay healthy.”

Both Nishikori and Eala are set to appear at the Washington Open, the first tournament on the North American hardcourt swing.

Nishikori has received a wildcard for the event and he is set to play another Asian star in the first round of the tournament: Jerry Shang.

Shang is currently outside the top 200 of the ATP Tour rankings, but he has previously been as high as World No 47 in his career.

Eala, meanwhile, is set to get her Washington Open campaign underway against Qinwen Zheng, who has also received a wildcard from the WTA 500 event.

Zheng is a stalwart of the women’s game and has previously achieved fantastic things in tennis.

The Chinese star has reached a Grand Slam final, at the Australian Open in 2024, and she claimed the Olympic Gold Medal at the Paris Games in 2024.

Both Nishikori and Eala will have their work cut out to reach the next stage of the Washington Open, but they will both be desperate to get their North American hardcourt swing underway in positive fashion, for differing reasons.

Eala has a genuine chance to crack the top 20 of the WTA Tour rankings during this swing, as she is defending just 70 points until the US Open.

For Nishikori, however, it will mark his swansong at the Washington Open. The star is set to retire later this year, with many predicting it could come during the Asian swing in September and October.

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Jannik Sinner’s season in 2026 has seen him continue to dominate the ATP Tour.

The Italian has already collected six titles in the first seven months of the season, including the second Wimbledon championship of his career.

The World No 1 has lost just three times in his 47 matches so far this year, and those came against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, Jakub Mensik at the Qatar Open, and Juan Manuel Cerundolo at Roland Garros.

Sinner’s understated manner often means his hard work goes unnoticed away from the court, but his coach, Simone Vagnozzi, has made a stunning claim about the star.

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In an interview with Corriere della Sera, the Italian coach said: “He’s a fearful worker. I’ve had to motivate him two or three times in five years. His greatest quality is wanting people by his side who tell him what he doesn’t want to hear.

“It all starts with attitude and the desire to improve: you have to find the courage to make mistakes, even to fail. Jannik has a significant base of mental strength, we’ve just multiplied it. He has innate gifts. You don’t become a colt if you’re a nag.

“Now you can see that he can hit aces in the important moments, but for that to happen you have to feel confident in your shot because you’ve worked on it for hours and hours in training.”

It should be a major worry to the rest of Sinner’s ATP Tour rivals that the star does not need any real motivation from his coaches.

If Vagnozzi’s claim about Sinner’s work ethic is correct, which would not be surprising, that means most of what we saw from the Italian on court is entirely down to him.

Along with his exceptional prowess, Sinner’s mentality is the key reason why he’s been able to dominate the entirety of the ATP Tour for so long.

Even if a player comes along who is as powerful and technical as Sinner is currently, they will also have to be a cut above mentally in order to challenge the World No 1.

That is why he is far and away the top-ranked player in the world and that shows no signs of stopping until the start of the 2027 season at the very earliest.

Sinner is currently 5290 ranking points above the second spot and for a player of the Italian’s form, that is going to make it incredibly hard to dislodge him from the summit of the ATP Tour.

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Jannik Sinner has been near-perfect in 2026, but there is one glaring worry for the World No 1 across the season.

The Italian completely capitulated in the second round of Roland Garros and it cost him his very first Grand Slam at the Paris tournament.

Sinner was two sets and a break up against Juan Manuel Cerundolo when he completely lost his way, from what looked like a combination of heat exhaustion and fatigue issues.

The World No 1 had played a lot of tennis on the European clay court swing, winning Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome back-to-back, but it was still a major concern for Sinner.

He bounced back beautifully at Wimbledon to win the title for a second consecutive year, which makes his issues at Roland Garros even stranger.

His coach, Simone Vagnozzi, has finally revealed his thoughts on the matter in a new interview with Corriere della Sera.

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Asked what the issues behind Sinner’s capitulation were, Vagnozzi responded: “I don’t think there’s a single cause; many small things, when combined, can lead to these small slumps, but let’s remember that there have been four in the last five years.

“These guys aren’t robots. Heat, fatigue, and tension can all combine. The temperature in Paris was prohibitive, and he arrived there under significant physical and mental stress.

“In short, there’s no single factor; in that case, it would be easier for us to correct it. We have to live with these episodes, working to avoid them. There can be a strong, stupid player. But there can never be a stupid champion.”

Sinner might have bounced back from his early Roland Garros exit, but it is still clearly lingering in his mind.

The star has opted not to play the Canadian Open to begin his North American swing, despite the fact he has played little tennis over the summer.

The star’s appearance at Wimbledon was his only competitive tennis action since the 28th May, when he was dispatched by Cerundolo at the French Open.

That means Sinner has played just seven matches in two months, so he is surely fresh enough to compete at the Canadian Open.

The star is clearly being selective with the tournaments he plays after his gruelling time on the clay court swing.

If Sinner is able to win the US Open for the first time since 2024, his decision will surely be the right one.

Sinner’s next tournament is now expected to be the Cincinnati Open, which is set to begin on August 13th. The Italian reached the final of the tournament in 2025.

The post Jannik Sinner’s coach says what critics misunderstand about his fatigue issues appeared first on Tennis365.

The Canadian Open was once one of the biggest events on the tennis calendar, but it’s become a footnote for many of the top players in recent years.

The tournament has been won by the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic since 2000, but the last two years at least has seen players shun the event.

Novak Djokovic has not played the tournament since 2018, while Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s omission from this year’s event means they won’t have played the tournament since 2023.

That has tended to lead to more opportunities for lesser-ranked players at the event, with Ben Shelton and Leylah Fernandez landing the titles in 2025.

However, this year’s event has seen just as many lower-ranked stars drop out as top ranked stars, as the likes of Jack Draper and Holger Rune have joined Alcaraz, Djokovic, and Sinner.

ATP players to withdraw from the Canadian Open

• Carlos Alcaraz
• Jannik Sinner
• Novak Djokovic
• Jack Draper
• Holger Rune
• Tomas Machac
• Sebastian Korda

Tomas Machac and Sebastian Korda have also confirmed they will not be playing the event, as they both try to recover from injuries that kept them out of Wimbledon.

The top seeds at the event on the men’s side will now be Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Alex de Minaur. Zverev is the only player of the top three seeds to win the event, but that came all the way back in 2017, when he defeated Federer in the final.

On the WTA Tour side, Karolina Muchova, who confirmed she would not be playing the event after undergoing ‘small surgery’ following her Wimbledon final appearance, will not be playing the Toronto event.

WTA stars who have pulled out of the Canadian Open

• Karolina Muchova
• Victoria Mboko
• Hailey Baptiste
• Emma Raducanu
• Jasmine Paolini
• Dayana Yastremska
• Petra Marčinko

Tennishead are reporting that World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka will not be playing the event, although that is yet to be confirmed by the Masters event.

Muchova will be joined by Victoria Mboko and Hailey Baptiste, both of whom have suffered major knee injuries in the 2026 season.

Baptiste suffered an ACL and meniscus injury in her left knee at Roland Garros, while Mboko suffered an MCL injury on her left knee after a fall at Queen’s.

Elsewhere, the stress fracture in Emma Raducanu’s foot, which kept her out of Wimbledon at the last minute, will also force her to miss the Canadian Open.

Jasmine Paolini, Dayana Yastremska, and Petra Marinko will also not be playing the Masters event.

The top seeds in the women’s draw will now be Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, and Coco Gauff. Pegula is a two-time winner of the event, but Rybakina and Gauff are yet to claim the title.

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Carlos Alcaraz is set to step up his recovery from the wrist injury that has left him on the sidelines since April, with former British No 1 Greg Rusedski suggesting there is a clear deadline on the horizon for the Spaniard.

Alcaraz missed the French Open and Wimbledon with the wrist injury he picked up at the Barcelona Open, with a recent social media post suggesting he is a long way from playing top tier tennis again, with the 23-year-old striking the ball gently in what looked like the early stages of a comeback.

Further question marks were raised as Alcaraz made an appearance at the World Cup final in New Jersey with a wrist support still evident just to watch Spain beat Argentina.

Now Rusedski has given his verdict on Alcaraz’s hopes of playing at the US Open next month, as he believes he is hoping to use the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati as his fitness test ahead of the final Grand Slam of the year.

“To have any chance to play at the US Open, he’s gotta play Cincinnati,” he declared on the edition of his Off Court with Greg Rusedski podcast that will be released on Monday.

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“If he plays Cincinnati and the wrist holds up, that is exciting news for our sport, because we definitely need him back.

“If he doesn’t play Cincinnati, we know the US Open isn’t gonna happen and he’s been away from the game for very, very long time.

“He’s got to be smart with it because the fact he’s got to get his volume up to a certain level and you don’t want to rush it back too much.

“The 12-day event in Cincinnati might actually help him because the fact that he can have a few more breaks in between matches, but this is still a huge question marks.

“It’s not like you’re playing a two-out-of-three major. So for the women’s, it’s a little bit easier because when you go into the majors, it’s like a regular week with a guaranteed day off every week is two out of three sets. To make the jump up to three out of five sets is tough for the men.

“From what I saw from that original video, I wasn’t thinking would play at the US Open, but we need him back in our sport and we’ll find out. Cincinnati, fingers crossed he’s back because we miss Carlos. I really hope he’s back in Cincinnati and healthy.”

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Rusedski went on to suggest Alcaraz was wise to use a wrist support when he accepted an official role to be part of the World Cup final.

Alcaraz had the task of bringing the trophy onto the pitch prior to kick-off, with Rusedski pointing out a role of that nature will force him to put his wrist in the line of fire.

“You gotta shake people’s hands a lot when you take on a tole like that at the World Cup,” he added. “If you have one person all of a sudden give you a big handshake, you’re gonna put that injury back in there. So I think it was clever that he had the tape on the World Cup.”

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