As the 2025 Canadian Open faces growing scrutiny over multiple player withdrawals and format changes, tournament director Valerie Tetreault has stepped forward to address the mounting criticism and clarify the tournament's stance. With stars like Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Aryna Sabalenka opting out of this year’s event, fans and players alike have raised concerns about the scheduling and conditions.
Star withdrawals spark discontent
The tournament took a hit even before the first serve, as several top-tier names withdrew from both the ATP and WTA draws. While Aryna Sabalenka chose to skip the event, citing the need for extra recovery time, men’s favorites like Djokovic, Sinner, and Alcaraz also pulled out — creating a vacuum that led to frustrations among fans and media.
Frances Tiafoe didn’t mince words, calling the event “garbage” due to certain changes implemented this year. Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev criticized the playing conditions, branding them “ridiculous” — further fueling the perception that the Canadian Open may be losing its competitive edge.
Tetreault sets the record straight
Responding to the controversy, Canadian Open women’s tournament director Valerie Tetreault addressed the media, providing much-needed context and attempting to quell the backlash.
“On the first question, it’s not part of any discussion right now, you know, the possibility of alternating between Cincinnati and Canada in terms of the weeks in the calendar,” said Tetreault, when asked about the possibility of reshuffling the calendar to reduce strain on players.
She acknowledged that the current schedule — which sees the tournament held just two weeks after Wimbledon — likely contributed to the unusually high number of withdrawals.
“This year was clearly not ideal,” she admitted. “I do think that this year we were probably more impacted because of the two weeks in between Wimbledon and our tournament.”
A more balanced calendar ahead
Despite the setbacks, Valerie Tetreault expressed optimism about the future. “The good news is that 2026 and 2027 will be what we call the long summer calendar. So we’ll have an extra week, so there will be, again, three weeks in between Wimbledon and the National Bank Open. I do think that will make a difference.”
In addressing concerns about voluntary withdrawals, Tetreault clarified: “I’m a little bit relieved that in Montreal we weren’t too impacted. I think in the end, there’s only Aryna Sabalenka really who made the choice to skip Montreal to have a little bit extra time. The other players who weren’t here, it was mostly for longer-term injuries and nothing that had to do of a choice of playing or not Montreal.”
While 2025 has presented challenges for the Canadian Open, tournament officials appear committed to restoring the event’s reputation and minimizing scheduling conflicts in future editions. With adjustments on the horizon and transparency from leadership, the tournament hopes to reclaim its prestige on the road to the US Open.