Was Sinner Right to Withdraw From The Canadian Open?

Jannik Sinner, along with other notable players such as Novak Djokovic, has withdrawn from the Canadian Open, which starts this weekend. However, by withdrawing, Sinner now misses out on the chance to become the first-ever player to win all nine Masters 1000 events in a single calendar year, A feat which would ensure Jannik’s legacy as one of the greatest players of the modern game, and even of all time.

     (Image Credits to montrealgazette.com) 

Novak Djokovic (left) and Sinner (right) have both withdrawn from The Canadian Open for the second year running.

Was Sinner Right to Withdraw?

To many in the tennis community, Sinner is absolutely right with his decision to withdraw. Since last November, Jannik has won six consecutive Masters 1000 events and has recently just defended his men's singles title at Wimbledon. With main rival Carlos Alcaraz out injured until at least the US Open, he is certainly the man to beat. 

However, the root of the problem for many of the players - not just Jannik - lies within the scheduling itself. In the month of August alone, there are three critical tournaments taking place: The Canadian Open, The Cincinnati Open and the final grand slam of the year, The US Open. Recently, seven of the nine Masters events have been extended from one-week-long tournaments to taking place over twelve or thirteen days. This extends player schedules to eleven months of the year, leaving very little time for recovery. If this does not change, it will not be surprising to find more players withdrawing from events like the Canadian Open to prioritise grand slams and their own wellbeing.

How does a busy schedule affect a player's game?

Sticking with Sinner, we were all surprised when at the Roland Garros tournament, the world No. 1 suffered a shock round two exit to Juan Manuel Cerundolo. Many believe a contributing factor to this exit was Sinner’s hectic schedule in the lead-up to the tournament, as he won three Masters 1000 events in quick succession, leaving him with very little time to reset before Roland Garros. To compare, when Sinner won Wimbledon, he played no prior warm-up matches, and that seemed to make the difference and allow him to go the extra mile.

Another example of this is the increasing number of injuries players are suffering from. At Wimbledon alone, both home heroes Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper had to withdraw solely due to injuries, highlighting how detrimental this can be for each player's game. We even saw Zverev hyperextend his knee in the Wimbledon singles final during the third set. This, along with many other incidents, demonstrates how players cannot keep up with the current scheduling and something needs to change, and playing time definitely does not need to increase. 

Let us know what you think about the current scheduling & whether Sinner’s decision to withdraw from the Canadian Open was the correct thing to do or not!

Article written by Olive W