Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic withdraw from Canadian Open

The upcoming men’s National Bank Open tennis tournament lost some star power on Friday with the announcement that world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and seventh-ranked Novak Djokovic have withdrawn from the tourney.

They’ll join world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz on the sidelines. The Spaniard is still recovering from a wrist injury that forced him to miss this year’s French Open and Wimbledon.

Sinner won the 2023 edition of the tournament in Toronto and is the reigning Wimbledon champion. He bested Djokovic in the semifinal before defeating Alexander Zverev in the final.

Djokovic last won Canada’s top tennis tourney in 2016, also in Toronto. At 39, the 24-time Grand Slam champion may have deprived Montreal tennis fans of a swan song in the city by opting out.

Without Sinner, Zverev becomes the top seed, with Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime as the second seed. Auger-Aliassime will be without his longtime coach Frédéric Fontang, with whom he parted ways after losing to Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarterfinal.

Tennis Canada also confirmed that another Montreal native, Gabriel Diallo, was granted a wild card into the main draw. Diallo is currently the 92nd-ranked player in the world.

The men and women alternate between Montreal and Toronto each year. Last year, Canadian Victoria Mboko won the women’s tournament at IGA Stadium.

The National Bank Open will be held at IGA Stadium at Jarry Park from Aug. 1-13.

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