Jannik Sinner & Novak Djokovic Pull Out of National Bank Open Amid Growing Calendar Concerns

The 2026 National Bank Open has taken a hit even before the event has started, as two of the biggest ATP stars have pulled out of the event, which is slated to begin on August 1. The event in Montreal will be missing the presence of heavyweights like World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time Major champion Novak Djokovic, both of whom pulled out on July 24.

Both Sinner and Djokovic have cited workload management amid a hectic schedule, prioritizing their health to ensure they are fit for the upcoming US Open. Understandably, two of the biggest stars have pulled out of the event, as both were engaged in a Wimbledon semifinal on July 10, with Sinner playing the SW19 final on July 12, giving the duo an approximately three-week window to refresh and return to the court.

Carlos Alcaraz had already withdrawn from the National Bank Open, as the Spaniard is still recovering from a wrist injury he got in April. Along with the Spaniard, the withdrawals of Sinner and Djokovic mean a decent chunk of star power will be missing from the event, despite it being a Masters 1000 event, a level just below the Grand Slams.

These player withdrawals have become more frequent since the ATP decided to extend the Masters 1000 events to two weeks, with higher revenues and ticket sales, and with more opportunities for lower-ranked players through an extended draw, being the main motivations behind the decision.

The new format of the Masters 1000 events does have rest days between matches, but it also means that players have to give extra time to events, which would have been over in a week. The likes of Sinner and Djokovic have criticized the crowded calendar.

This is not the first time that Canada has seen star players withdrawing from the event, as the trio of Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic did not participate last year as well, with the event being only two weeks away from Wimbledon.

However, with the turnaround period between Wimbledon and the National Bank Open being three weeks this time, tournament director Karl Hale had previously expressed his optimism about the participation of the top-ranked stars.

‘Okay, we’re here… 2026, you’re gonna be in Montreal. Just make sure that happens,” said Hale on the Nothing Major podcast. “I’m very, very confident that they’ll be in Montreal next year, and I don’t think it’s an issue because of what we’re doing with the tours and the bonus pools and all of those things, and also the 3 weeks between our tournaments next year.”

However, once the withdrawal decisions were announced, Montreal tournament director Valerie Tetrault took a pragmatic view of the circumstances, siding with the players’ decision to prioritize their health.

“We are obviously very disappointed that Jannik and Novak won’t be joining us in Montréal this year, especially after they also withdrew from last year’s tournament in Toronto”, said Tetrault in a statement. “We respect their decisions and understand that, with such a demanding schedule, players’ health must remain the priority”.

With the usual title suspects out, the National Bank Open will allow some of the other ranked players to make a decent amount of ranking points and take their ranking up for a better-seeded spot at the US Open. With the star power missing from the event, fans will hope that home favorite Felix Auger-Aliassime makes a deep run at the tournament, keeping local fans’ interest.

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