Top seed Alexander Zverev has arrived at the 2026 Canadian Open as the top seed, headlining a depleted field with Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, and Carlos Alcaraz missing from the draw. Amid the discourse stirred by Djokovic and Sinner's decisions to withdraw, Zverev pinpointed why neither financial incentives nor ranking penalties would have influenced the 24-time Grand Slam champion's move.
Canadian officials, frustrated by frequent last-minute withdrawals, have suggested possible penalties to encourage participation. Tournament director Valérie Tétreault and Tennis Canada CEO Gavin Ziv suggested that 'adjustments are needed' and revealed they are in discussions with the ATP to help ensure top players participate in important events. Zverev, who reached the Wimbledon final, said such tactics would fall flat. 'You think Novak will care if he gets a bigger bonus? I think the guy has — I mean, if I would have to guess, the guy is north of 400 million in his bank account, and so I'm not sure he would care about 50,000 more or less,' Zverev said.
Zverev also questioned if world number five Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion with nearly $200 million in career prize money, even cares about his standing. 'I don’t think he cares about his ranking either,' Zverev noted. 'But what do you want? Do you want us to drop in rankings if we don't play? Honestly, if everything goes to the old and we would play one-week Masters events, yeah, we can talk about it, but if you're forcing us to be away for two and a half, three weeks during Grand Slams and the same then goes for Masters events, you can't force us to play.'
Zverev argued that reducing the duration of Masters events, which now stretch up to 13 days, could help lure players back. He stressed that constant travel during majors and these tournaments creates an impossible schedule. 'Sorry, that's nonsense. At the end of the day, if you play all nine Masters, you get a bonus at the end of the year. So there is that to it as well,' he added.