The upcoming National Bank Open, set to take place August 1-13 at IGA Stadium in Montreal, is poised to feature nearly the entire top tier of men’s tennis, a significant turnaround from last year’s tournament which saw several leading players withdraw. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic headline the 96-player field, with 71 of the ATP Tour’s top 72 ranked players confirming their participation.
One notable absence is seven-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz, who continues to recover from a right wrist injury sustained in April. The injury forced Alcaraz to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon, and he will not travel to Montreal as he focuses on returning at full strength. “The No. 1 priority at this time is for him to make sure that he can come back and be 100 per cent with a wrist injury that we know can be tricky,” said National Bank Open tournament director Valérie Tétreault. She also expressed confidence that Alcaraz, who marked a historic milestone early this year by completing a career Grand Slam at just 23, will have many opportunities to compete in Montreal in the future.
Sinner, 24, enters the tournament in strong form, having won six consecutive ATP Masters 1000 titles this season and remaining undefeated at that level. He shares the marquee billing with Djokovic, who has not competed in Montreal since 2015. However, Djokovic’s participation remains uncertain, with Tétreault noting that the 39-year-old is managing a lighter schedule as he approaches the later stages of his career. “It’s far from being guaranteed that because he’s on the list that he’s going to be playing this summer,” she said, emphasizing that Djokovic will decide his schedule after Wimbledon.
Joining Sinner, Djokovic, and defending champion Ben Shelton of the United States, are French Open champion Alexander Zverev and Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime, currently ranked fourth in the world. Auger-Aliassime, who advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals before falling to Djokovic in a five-hour, 15-minute five-set match, is seeded third for the Montreal event—the highest seeding ever earned by a Canadian at the tournament.
Tétreault highlighted the excitement surrounding Auger-Aliassime’s ambitions, especially following the women’s tournament last year, when local teenager Victoria Mboko captured national attention with her championship run. “I know he has that dream of winning here, and I think he’s going to believe in his chances,” she said.
Other significant entrants include Russian star Daniil Medvedev and Canadian players Denis Shapovalov, who secured direct entry as the 40th seed, and Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, who was awarded a wild card into the main draw. The tournament, offering a total prize purse of US$9.4 million, will grant first-round byes to the top 32 seeds. The event’s scheduling three weeks after Wimbledon instead of two this year may improve player availability and draw the largest star presence in recent years.