The 2025 Canadian Open was supposed to be a summer showcase of the game’s best. Instead, the tournament arrives with star players sidelined, last-minute redraws, and some brutally honest words from Taylor Fritz. If you’re wondering just how much the tour’s new schedule beats up its stars, you’re not alone, because even the top seeds are speaking out, while others are already dropping out. Is there a breaking point? Fans and players are left searching for answers as the action begins in Toronto.
Why Are Big Names like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner Withdrawing from the Toronto Field?
Taylor Fritz has put the issue front and center. In Washington, Fritz questioned why an already-packed tour keeps “adding stuff” when players have been asking for shorter seasons for years. His frustration wasn’t subtle, especially as, just days later, the 2025 Canadian Open draw took a significant hit.
Less than a week after Fritz’s remarks, the Toronto entry list unravelled. Fresh off a Wimbledon final, Carlos Alcaraz skipped Canada with “small muscle issues” and “mental fatigue.” Jannik Sinner, who just lifted the trophy at Wimbledon, pulled out to “recover” after hurting his elbow in England. After dealing with a groin strain following his Wimbledon run, Novak Djokovic chose to rest rather than risk it. Jack Draper also exited, putting his hard-court buildup on hold with an arm injury.
Suddenly, four of the top six men on tour are out of the picture. That spotlighted Fritz’s warning, making it more than just talk, and leaving tour officials scrambling to reshape the event’s biggest stages.
How Has the Shrinking Summer Break Affected the ATP’s Top Players?
This entire mess didn’t pop up overnight. A decade ago, finishing Wimbledon on July 12 meant players had 29 days before Canada’s main draw started on August 10. Fast-forward, and in 2025, the gap is chopped in half: Wimbledon finished on July 13, with Toronto beginning play on July 27.
How has the ATP calendar changed over the past 10 years?
2015:
• Wimbledon Final – July 12
• 1st Day Canada Open – August 1028 DAYS OFF
2025:
• Wimbledon Final – July 13
• 1st Day Canada Open – July 2714 DAYS OFF
In 10 years the summer break has been cut in half. pic.twitter.com/lpkHUkJUXK
— Janniksin_Updates (@JannikSinner_Up) July 21, 2025
This tighter schedule results from the ATP expanding seven out of nine Masters 1000 events, including Toronto and Cincinnati, into 12-day showdowns. The theory is to offer fans more to watch and guarantee bigger matches on bigger stages. But this also means less time for players to rest, reload, and recover between tournaments.
As Fritz pointed out, it will already be his 15th tournament of the season by the time he steps on court in Canada. Sinner, meanwhile, tallied over 20 matches before even hitting the grass at Wimbledon. That heavy mileage, combined with almost no break between the 2024-25 campaign and the next challenge, has bodies breaking down regularly. Fans see more withdrawals, and the conversation about the ATP calendar keeps heating up as summer stretches wear on.
What Does Taylor Fritz Want Changed About the Tennis Schedule?
Taylor Fritz didn’t hold back when asked about the relentless pace. Ahead of the Citi Open, he slammed the ever-expanding two-week Masters slate as “INSANE.”
“The Hopman Cup was after Wimbledon,” Fritz said. “I didn’t even know this was going on. They had an event with like Felix and Cobolli playing a tournament right after Wimbledon and one of them is coming and playing here.”
Fritz also discussed the schedule’s lack of real downtime, saying, “We find ways to shorten the schedule to make room for other tournaments, but we can’t find room to shorten the schedule just for there to be nothing. I’d love to see it go back to just two weeks, and maybe we can have an extra, can shorten the season a week.”
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Right now, the only thing that seems certain is that top players, tournament organizers, and fans will continue butting heads about what’s best for the game, even as the 2025 Canadian Open tries to carry on without many of its biggest stars.
