![\"epa12529915](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b560846e-jannik-sinner-x-carlos-alcaraz-17122025.webp\"\/)
The Canadian Open men\u2019s event in Montreal was hit by the withdrawal of Jannik Sinner (left), while Carlos Alcaraz (right) was also sidelined by a wrist injury. (EPA Images pic)<\/p>\nThe Canadian Open men\u2019s event in Montreal was hit by the withdrawal of Jannik Sinner (left), while Carlos Alcaraz (right) was also sidelined by a wrist injury. (EPA Images pic)<\/p>\n
VIRGINIA: The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) said on Monday that a string of withdrawals from the Canadian Open underscored concerns that professional tennis\u2019s lengthy calendar and expanded top-level events are increasing injury risks.<\/p>\n
The players\u2019 advocacy group said it was saddened but not surprised by the absences from the tournament, arguing that reduced recovery time between tournaments was contributing to injuries occurring earlier in the season and becoming more serious.<\/p>\n
The Canadian Open\u2019s men\u2019s event in Montreal was hit by the withdrawals of world number one Jannik Sinner and 24-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, while Carlos Alcaraz was also sidelined with a wrist injury. <\/p>\n
Hometown favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime also pulled out due to a back injury before his opening match.<\/p>\n
On the women\u2019s side, defending champion Victoria Mboko, Wimbledon finalist Karolina Muchova, Emma Raducanu and Jasmine Paolini are also missing the tournament with injuries.<\/p>\n
The first quarter-final matches of the tournament begin later on Monday.<\/p>\n
Tournament organisers said last month that recurring late withdrawals from Masters 1000 events had become a wider issue for the sport.<\/p>\n
PTPA injury data<\/p>\n
The PTPA said it had collected and analysed injury data from more than 30,000 professional matches across all levels of the game over the past eight years in a project launched three years ago with its medical director, Dr Robby Sikka.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe evidence is clear: the season is too long, recovery time is shrinking, and injuries are occurring earlier and becoming more severe,\u201d the PTPA said in a statement posted on social media.<\/p>\n
The group said upper-body injuries were up 42% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, according to its analysis. <\/p>\n
\u201cArm injuries were up 112% this year compared with the 2025 average,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
The ATP expanded seven of its nine Masters 1000 tournaments to 12-day events under its OneVision strategic plan, with 2025 the first season in which the longer format was used across those events.<\/p>\n
The PTPA said the change had cut into the time players have to rest, train and travel between tournaments, despite players having voiced concerns about the demands of the schedule for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cShort-term commercial interests cannot come at the expense of player health,\u201d the association said. <\/p>\n
\u201cProtecting players isn\u2019t just about today\u2019s competitors, it is about protecting the future of tennis,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Player choice<\/p>\n
The ATP has previously said players retain choices over their schedules and that it is working to create incentives for an appropriate number of matches to be played during the season.<\/p>\n
Spokespeople for the ATP and WTA Tours did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
The PTPA called for the sport to take a player-health and data-driven approach to restructuring the calendar. <\/p>\n
It said players should have a meaningful role in shaping the schedule, while mandatory tournament commitments should be reduced to allow adequate recovery.<\/p>\n
It also urged the ATP to consider reversing the 12-day Masters 1000 format.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Canadian Open men\u2019s event in Montreal was hit by the withdrawal of Jannik Sinner (left), while Carlos…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[10198,271,244,366,465,219,139,364,18486,28],"class_list":["post-49484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-felix-auger-aliassime","tag-canadian-open","tag-carlos-alcaraz","tag-felix-auger-aliassime","tag-grand-slam","tag-injury","tag-jannik-sinner","tag-novak-djokovic","tag-ptpa","tag-recovery-time","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}