Toronto fans were left disheartened as big names like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner pulled out of the National Bank Open, a move that has stirred growing criticism over the tournament’s extended 12-day format. With the event wedged between Wimbledon, Cincinnati, and the US Open, the brutal scheduling has taken its toll, and players are speaking up. Once a quiet frustration, the issue has now erupted, with the Citi DC Open finalist, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, openly calling out the ATP for what he sees as poor planning. As the heat builds, the NBO’s timing crisis risks becoming a recurring headline unless drastic structural changes hit the court.

Just hours ago, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina took to X, unleashing a fiery message in both Spanish and English that laid bare his frustration with the ATP’s scheduling chaos in Toronto. The Spaniard, who’s set to face off against Jakub Mensik at the Motorola razr Grandstand Court, didn’t mince words, beginning with a polite “Good afternoon” before diving straight into the fire: “Today I want to share my disappointment and frustration with the ATP. Tomorrow, every match starts at 12:30, except ours, which has been scheduled at 11:00. We’re staying one hour away from the club, which means we have to wake up extremely early to arrive in good condition.”

But he didn’t stop there. Davidovich Fokina revealed how their request for a scheduling change was flatly denied: “We’ve asked for a change, but the answer was that everything has already been sold, tickets, TV rights, etc. Once again, it’s clear that players are not taken into consideration. Today it happened to others, tomorrow it’s me, and from the day after, all matches return to 12:30. There are plenty of available courts, yet we’re the only ones playing at 11:00.” The tone was raw, real, and resolute.

Closing the post with stinging clarity, he added: “The ATP always promises they’ll fix things, but nothing ever changes. This isn’t the first time it happens, and when you’re inside, you realize it’s not as great as it looks from the outside.”

For context, the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Canada has undergone a seismic shift, expanding from a 56-player, week-long showdown to a sprawling 96-player, 12-day affair. The 2025 edition in Toronto kicked off today, with the final slated for Thursday, August 7. It’s all part of the ATP Tour’s broader push, now rolling out this format across seven of the nine Masters 1000 events. Once streamlined and compact, these prestigious tournaments are growing bigger, but not without growing pains.

While tournament director Karl Hale is embracing the change with open arms, he has not closed himself off to changes. “We’re going to have talks with the tours about how we can mitigate against this, so we have some really good ideas,” Hale revealed. “I just think the 12 days is bigger, better for the tournament, for the fans, more broadcasts … more kids watching and participating in tennis. So I think it’s better for tennis in Canada.” Still, even as Hale dreams of a broader tennis boom, player discontent simmers beneath the surface.

While stars like Alcaraz and Sinner have already stepped back post-Wimbledon because of scheduling chaos and recovery, they’re not alone. Alongside Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, more voices have echoed through the Canadian Open, players fed up, frustration boiling over, as the calendar crush continues to strain bodies and silence fairness on court.

Frances Tiafoe raised his voice over the controversial Canadian Open move

Frances Tiafoe, never one to mince words, raised eyebrows in his press conference, slamming one quirk of the new setup. “It is what it is. I like that it’s a bit shorter than Madrid, Rome. Weird because the final is on a Thursday. That’s garbage,” the World No. 11 said bluntly. Tiafoe still plans to make the most of it, though: “But yeah, I mean, I guess I’m ready to get going and see how that goes. The 10-day events are tough, but I think it will be easier since I’m so close to the States. Something goes wrong, I’m a quick flight home.”

Over on the WTA side, Leylah Fernandez joined the chorus of scheduling complaints. The Canadian star suffered a tough first-round loss to Australia’s Maya Joint, just two days after claiming the title in Washington. She had said that she had received “a lot of promises” that she would be allotted Tuesday’s night session, which would give her more time to recover in between tournaments. However, she was told that would not be the case on Sunday. She didn’t hide her disappointment. “I did not receive that,” she said of the rest she expected. “That hurt me because I was very looking forward to be playing at night, but I guess it’s a little bit political issues at that point.”

As the calendar crowds and bodies wear down, both tours face a reckoning. What’s being billed as “bigger and better” is, for many players, feeling more like a logistical nightmare. Rest, recovery, and performance are crashing into commercial reality, and the cracks are starting to show.

One thing is certain: the calendar is bloated, and the frustration is real. The voices of players, loud, clear, and urgent, can’t be ignored for much longer.