The ATP Tour claimed to have a problem the WTA doesn’t after Jannik Sinner’s latest decision

The Canadian Open hasn’t been able to attract the big names in men’s tennis for several years now, although the same cannot be said for the women’s event.

Who is your pick to win the US Open men’s singles title?

Andrea Petkovic and Mark Petchey think they know why.

Mark Petchey claims players missing the Canadian Open is a ‘male problem’ and Andrea Petkovic agrees

During the latest episode of ‘The Big T Podcast‘, Petchey and Petkovic discussed Sinner’s Canadian Open withdrawal.

“It’s not really anything new. It’s definitely a male problem,” said Petchey.

“The women are in Toronto, and in general they have played. But on the men’s side we have not had the world’s top three play in Canada since 2013.

ATP Top 10 and their 2026 Canadian Open participation

WTA Top 10 and their 2026 Canadian Open participation

“This is not a two-week problem of all the Masters 1000s; this is a Canada problem that it’s in a place where the players have decided we have to have a look at our schedule and decide whether it’s too much tennis heading into the US Open and how do we best prepare.

“This is more of a Canada issue for Canada than it is a big debate about going back to the two-week Masters on the men’s side.

“Is it the fact that as a male player you come out of the French and Wimbledon having played best of five? Are they feeling more fatigued? But this has been going on for the last 13 years, so this is not a big shock to me, and I don’t think it should necessarily be as big a story.

“I understand from the tournament director’s point of view in Montreal that it’s not great, but the reality of the situation is that it has not been great, if that’s what you want to call it, for a long time.”

Petkovic was also keen to share her thoughts.

“I think it is a little bit of an ATP issue. The ATP does a lot of fantastic things, some much better than the WTA, it has to be said, but I do think that it’s not only the placement in the calendar, but it’s that the men do play three or four weeks longer,” she said.

“The women are done after the first week of November, which is already an absurdly long season if you compare it to other sports.

“I spoke to Carlos [Alcaraz] in Australia, he played the ATP Masters, got injured and lost to Jannik [Sinner] in the final and went to Davis Cup because he tried to play but was injured and couldn’t but he was still in Bologna, still trying to play Davis Cup and eventually he had two weeks to get to Australia, get his prep in, get his vacation in.

“The season is just too long, and I think for the men because it’s even longer than for the women, they have to manage their energy.”

Sinner, the world number one, has already played 47 matches (44-3) this season.

He is expected to play the Cincinnati Open, the US Open, the Shanghai Masters, the Paris Masters, and the ATP Finals between now and the end of the year.

If he were to win all five events, which is unlikely but not impossible, he would finish the year having played 76 matches in 2026.

With that in mind, it’s hardly surprising he decided to skip the Canadian Open.

How many matches have the top five men and women played so far this year?

Sinner has played 47 matches in 2026, although that’s only the third-most of players ranked inside the top five.

• 1. Alexander Zverev – 55 (44-11)
• 2. Mirra Andreeva – 48 (38-11)
• 3. Jannik Sinner – 47 (44-3)
• 4. Elena Rybakina – 45 (34-11)
• T-5. Jessica Pegula – 44 (35-9)
• T-5. Felix Auger-Aliassime – 44 (30-14)
• 7. Coco Gauff – 43 (31-12)
• 8. Aryna Sabalenka – 42 (36-6)
• 9. Carlos Alcaraz – 25 (22-3)
• 10. Novak Djokovic – 19 (14-5)

Germany’s Zverev has played 55 matches this season, seven more than Mirra Andreeva, who’s played 48.

Zverev and Andreeva are both scheduled to play in Canada next week, where they will extend the gap to Sinner.