The National Bank Open is a 1000 series event. However, this year we are seeing a very unusual high number of withdrawals, which have become the biggest story of this tournament that takes place in Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario every summer.
Not participating on the men’s side in Toronto are world number one Jannik Sinner of Italy, world number two Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, world number five Jack Draper of Great Britain, world number six Novak Djokovic of Serbia, American Sebastian Korda, Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, and Australian Jordan Thompson. Sinner, the Wimbledon and Australian Open champion, has withdrawn from the National Bank Open in Toronto due to an elbow injury, and Djokovic’s withdrawal is because of a groin ailment. Draper’s reason is a left arm injury, while Alcaraz is blaming physical and mental reasons.
On the women’s side the withdrawals in Montreal consist of world number one Aryna Sabalenka (fatigue), Paula Badosa of Spain (lower back), Ons Jabeur of Tunisia (mental health), and Qinwen Zheng of China (elbow surgery). In addition to missing the National Bank Open, Zheng will miss Cincinnati and the United States Open too.
With all of the injuries, the top seed on the women’s side is world number two Coco Gauff of the United States, and the top seed on the men’s side is Alexander Zverev of Germany. Zverev won the National Bank Open in Montreal in 2017. In this final, Zverev defeated Roger Federer of Switzerland by a score of 6-3, 6-4. The National Bank Open will expand by 32 to a field of 96 on the men’s side and women’s side in 2025.
