Serena Williams’ coach Rennae Stubbs has defended Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner’s decision to skip the upcoming Canadian Open. Stubbs reckons there is a problem with the current ATP calendar as it is too hectic for the players.
Djokovic, who is a four-time champion at the Canadian Open, and the World No. 1 Jannik Sinner were initially part of the player entry list for the tournament, which created a lot of buzz among the fans but the duo finally decided to withdraw their names.
Furthermore, Carlos Alcaraz had earlier opted out of the competition as he is still recovering from a wrist injury.
Rennae Stubbs said on her podcast, “This calendar, we’ve been talking about it forever and a day, how do we fix this? The Canadian Open was one of my favorite tournaments every single time I played. The crowd support, it’s astronomical, how good it is. They love their tennis in Canada.”
Stubbs added that the current ATP calendar is a ‘nightmare’ for the players.
“They love this time of the year, but when you lose your two biggest marquee stars in Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, and now Novak Djokovic, how do we change this narrative of this calendar being such a nightmare?”
The former Australian doubles player said she would not blame Sinner for skipping the Canadian Open as he had earlier burned himself before the French Open.
“I don’t blame Jannik for not playing. It was a bear of a schedule for him doing what he did, played all those clay-court tournaments. lost that really tough match at the French, then goes and wins Wimbledon, doesn’t play anything prior. Maybe he learned a lesson about the load of tennis that he did before the French.”
The 55-year-old also questioned the critics, who questioned Sinner for skipping the Canadian Open.
She concluded, “And people have the audacity to say, ‘Well, he has the opportunity to win all the Masters 1000s this year. Why wouldn’t he do it?’ Do you think he cares about that? He’s got so many records now – youngest to do this, youngest to do that – he just won Wimbledon. His only thinking right now is, ‘How can I win the US Open?’ So not playing in Canada clearly opens up the book for him to do the rest that he needs and do the workload in Cincinnati and then take the week off and then play the US Open.”
