Jannik Sinner spotted back on court in Monte-Carlo as Canadian Open absence questioned

The Canadian Open will not see Jannik Sinner take part following the Italian choosing to withdraw on health grounds as other tournaments in the North American hardcourt swing catches his eye. Nevertheless, recently the World No.1 has been spotted practicing in Monte-Carlo, dividing fans opinions on his actual fitness.

The news came in tangent with Novak Djokovic also confirming that he will not be making the trip to Montreal, a huge blow for the tournament who did not hold back with their criticism after the same thing happened two years on the spin.

Carlos Alcaraz will also not appear due to him still recovering from his wrist injury. This may have opened the door for a clearer pathway to more Masters 1000 success for Sinner, but that is not the case with him not competing.

He said in a statement: “After carefully evaluating all the factors with my team, we made the difficult decision to withdraw from Montreal. It’s never easy to forgo such an important event, but we believe it’s the right decision; my health is the priority. I regret not being able to attend, but I look forward to returning to Montreal in the future.”

Following his Wimbledon title run, it seemed that he was in need of taking a longer break from the sport. He had already exerted a lot of energy following winning all the titles on the Sunshine swing and on clay at Masters 1000 level ahead of a catastrophic collapse at Roland Garros in the second round.

Rest was the priority before Wimbledon, and seemingly the case as well with the US Open not too far away. This played in his decision of not making the trip to Canada, the location of his first Masters 1000 title all the way back in 2023.

However, a video has been posted online showing Sinner back on the court in Monte-Carlo, his place of residence, taking part in a session. Mainly slicing the ball, it was not too energy-zapping but still raised a number of questions.

One one hand, it could be a light session to keep him fit and sharp ahead of his return to competitive action. For others, they question whether he is fine and fit enough to have made that trip to compete in North America.

The five-time Grand Slam champion has not stepped on court since the Wimbledon final win over Alexander Zverev back on July 12. Over two weeks later, he is choosing a longer period to make sure he is at his most fittest and freshest with bigger tournaments on the horizon.

The last time a player that was not named Jannik Sinner won a Masters 1000 title was not even ranked high enough to participate in qualifying. That was, of course, the incredible Shanghai Masters campaign of Valentin Vacherot. Before that, Carlos Alcaraz had won the Cincinnati Open.

That final was cut short with Sinner visibly unwell, forced to retire on the spot as Alcaraz took home the win ahead of again getting the better of his foe at the US Open.

A year later, things are completely different. Sinner has won six Masters 1000 titles in a row, five of which coming in 2026 following the Paris Masters triumph at the end of last year, and is virtually unbeatable when going on court. In contrast, Alcaraz has not featured since mid-April with a lengthy spell on the sidelines thanks to that wrist problem.

How fit he will be for the Cincinnati Open and US Open title defences is yet to be seen, but Sinner will be the overwhelming favourite for both. The Canadian Open takes place from August 2-13 with the Cincinnati Open, where Sinner should next appear, starting a day later.