Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have reignited the debate over the ATP Masters 1000 calendar after withdrawing from the 2026 Canadian Open. With Carlos Alcaraz also ruled out due to his wrist injury, the tournament will be missing three of the sport’s biggest stars when Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and others head to Montréal to battle for the trophy.
Taylor Fritz Blames Extended Masters 1000 Schedule for Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic’s Withdrawals
When news broke that Sinner and Djokovic had pulled out of the Canadian Open, many in the tennis community were quick to point to the extended 12-day schedule for Masters 1000 events as the underlying issue. The prevailing view was that the packed tour calendar had made it impossible for top players to compete in every major event.
Fritz validated those concerns during his pre-tournament press conference at the Mubadala DC Open. While addressing Sinner and Djokovic’s decision, the American cited the shift away from the one-week Masters 1000 schedule and lamented that the season felt significantly longer.
“Again, I don’t know if I think this because I kind of — my ranking kind of got higher, I started going deeper in tournaments a bit more often right around the time we changed the Masters schedule. I don’t know if it’s because of that, but it feels like I’m playing more matches. It feels like the season got longer to me. It just feels like you’re at these tournaments for so long,” Fritz said.
Although Fritz acknowledged that the extended format was likely more profitable for tournaments, he emphasized the need to prioritize player welfare. He also highlighted the physical and mental toll of the packed schedule in the lead-up to the US Open.
“At the end of the day, it is a business. So if they’re making more money doing it, then it makes sense. But I think we need to also accommodate the players,” he said. “For the top guys, it’s a long time to be on the road and be playing when you’re committing to playing, you know, extended Master, extended Master, week, US Open. It’s a lot.”
“It’s tough to say, for sure. Before it happened, I thought it seemed like an all right idea to me, but now that we’re doing it, yeah, it feels, like, really long,” he added.
Fritz rejected the notion that players now place less importance on the Masters 1000 events. Instead, he explained that most of them are trying to manage their workload and ensure that they are at their best for the New York Major.
“I don’t think anyone cares about them less, no. I think it’s the same importance. I think some of the top players just not playing, it’s because of how long they would just be here. What they care about is New York. I think it was easier to play as a top player to go when it was just a week, a week, and that’s it,” he said.
Taylor Fritz has entered the DC Open as the No. 3 seed and is set to take on Zizou Bergs in his opening match. If he advances to the second round, the world No. 10 will lock horns with Tommy Paul or Kamil Majchrzak at the ATP 500 event.
