‘Definitely a Male Problem’ — After Sinner and Djokovic’s Withdrawals, Mark Petchey Calls Out 13-Year ATP Schedule Flaw

When Novak Djokovic and the freshly crowned Wimbledon champion, Jannik Sinner, both pulled out of the Montreal Masters, it reignited the debate over the tennis calendar. Discussing the high-profile withdrawals, former pros and commentators Andrea Petkovic and Mark Petchey made it clear that while fans are left disappointed, the real reason behind it is a divide between the ATP and WTA tours.

Mark Petchey Calls Out ATP’s ‘Canada Problem’ After Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner Withdrawals

It’s a tough pill to swallow for the Canadian Open organizers, who recently released a statement noting that the frequency of these last-minute withdrawals raises broader issues for the sport.

But the contrast to note here is that while the top-ranked women are successfully managing their hectic summer and competing at their WTA 1000 event in Toronto, the ATP tour’s biggest stars are routinely bailing on Canada to save their bodies for the US Open.

In the latest episode of “The Big T Podcast,” Petkovic and Petchey discussed the harsh realities of the ATP calendar. Petchey shared his thoughts, “Well, my opinion on it is that it’s not really anything new. Yeah, it’s definitely a male problem. You know, the women are up in Toronto. And in general, they have played in an Olympic year.

“It’s always going to be difficult for everybody to make a smart decision. But, you know, on the men’s side, we haven’t had the world’s top three play in Canada since 2013,” he added. The full ATP world top three ranked players have not competed together at the Canadian Open (National Bank Open) since the 2013 edition, although one or two of them have a few times.

Petchey went on to add that the issue is specifically with the scheduling of the Canadian Masters, not the overall format of the Masters 1000 tournaments. Because it takes place right before the US Open, players are reconsidering their participation to avoid exhausting themselves ahead of the major.

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Petkovic then added her insight into just how punishing the ATP schedule is.

“It’s that the men do play three-four weeks longer. The women are done after the first week in November, which is already an absurdly long season if you compare it to other sports,” said the former World No. 9. She pointed out that while most sports have a six-week break, tennis players don’t always get that.

The National Bank Open begins on August 1 for qualifying rounds in Montreal at IGA Stadium for ATP and in Toronto at Sobeys Stadium for WTA.