The Canadian Open is grappling with a significant absentee list as the first major event of the North American hard-court swing gets underway, with eight ATP and eight WTA players confirmed out of the combined Masters 1000 tournament split between Montreal and Toronto.
On the men's side, the familiar trio of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic are all missing for the second consecutive year. Sinner and Djokovic opted for extended rest after Wimbledon, while Alcaraz continues to manage the wrist injury he picked up at the Barcelona Open back in April. He is expected to return at the Cincinnati Open later in August. Also absent from the seeded men's draw are Alexander Bublik and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, with Zizou Bergs and Raphael Collignon stepping into the final seeded positions. Ethan Quinn became the latest addition to the withdrawal list, dealing with a metatarsal injury in his right foot.
The women's draw has taken perhaps the crueler blow. Defending champion Victoria Mboko, the Canadian teenager who memorably claimed the title on debut 12 months ago, is ruled out with a knee injury sustained at Queen's Club. Wimbledon finalist Karolina Muchova is also sidelined after a minor operation two weeks ago. Jasmine Paolini remains in recovery from a foot problem, and Hailey Baptiste is still working back from a serious knee injury suffered at Roland Garros. Emma Raducanu is among those also absent.
With first-round action beginning Sunday, August 2, the draw has been reshaped considerably heading into what is a crucial stretch before the US Open. TennisDraw users picking their bracket favorites will need to navigate a field looking very different from what many expected.
