Barty, Venus Williams and Kerber out of National Bank Open Montreal

The position of the National Bank Open in the calendar is less than ideal. Only 7 days after the Olympic Games finishes it will have a hard time attracting players who will be recovering from a draining Olympic Games experience. And the first cancellations are coming in.

World number one Ashleigh Barty confirmed she will skip the event in order to recover from a brutal schedule in the past month. She said:

"My team and I have made the decision to withdraw to have a few weeks to rest and recover from the heavy schedule of the last month. While it saddens me that I won't be able to go this year, I fully intend to come back when the tour returns to Montreal in 2023."

Venus Williams and Angelique Kerber also cancelled their participation and Tennis Canada released a statement on the cancellations:

"We're obviously disappointed that Ashleigh, Angelique and Venus will not be with us this year. They are exceptionally talented players. On the other hand, we're very excited we will once again host Simona in Montreal. We still have 18 players from the top 20."