The City of Mary, Montreal, Canada is currently experiencing a calm 16-degree temperature throughout the city. After traveling through different locations in Europe, it is time for the top-ranked tennis stars to book their flights for the North American hardcourt season. As players look forward to unleashing the action at the Canadian Open, Alexander Zverev pointed at a major flaw in the event.

The Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, commonly known as the Canadian Open, is set to unleash the action from August 6-12, 2024, at the IGA Stadium in Montreal, Canada. The tournament is set to feature top-ranked ATP stars like Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur, and more. However, amid the anticipation of the event, Sascha compared the event to the ones played in European countries.

Alexander Zverev recently shared his thoughts about the presence of a roof at tennis tournaments in the North American region. “Question whether there should be a roof or not it’s not my decision.” Zverev said, justifying that although it isn’t his decision to make, he still has a concern.

“When there is a roof it’s always nice because we know that we can play on and we can kind of there’s no delays. But I mean a lot of North American tournaments have no roof so or almost all of them except the US Open don’t have a roof so um it’s normal. In Europe I think it’s uh it’s a bit more advanced in that regard,” he added. Zverev has a notable history at the Canadian Open. He won the event in 2017 by defeating Roger Federer in the final and, in the ongoing, he returns as the second seed, looking to add another title to his record.

As the debate surrounding the presence of a roof is ignited, history shows that players have different opinions on the issue. Some enjoy the consistency it provides, while others find it problematic. Rafael Nadal highlighted a disadvantage of a roof during his 2017 US Open campaign. “I understand it’s a show, at the end of the day, and I enjoy that. I feel part of this, of course. But under the roof, we need to be a little bit more strict about the noise, in my opinion, no?” he said. “Because all the noise stays inside, and this is difficult, no?”

As the Canadian Open is set to begin today, the triggered debate over the benefits and drawbacks of having a roof continues. However, this isn’t the only concerning update that could affect the popularity of this year’s event.

Big names call out their withdrawals from the Canadian Open

As soon as the Paris Olympics approached, there were two types of players. Those who decided to give whatever it took for their nation’s glory and those who decided to save their energy for the upcoming hard court season. While both Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz suited in the former category, they decided to take some time off, therefore withdrawing from the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Just hours before his defeat in the gold medal match against the Serb, the Spaniard came forward to announce, “It has been a very long season for me and due to the accumulation of matches and fatigue, I will not be able to play in Montreal this year.” Alcaraz, who has made himself a strong highlight for each of the tennis tournaments, gave a major hit to his own portfolio as well as the event’s popularity.

Carlos Alcaraz will lose 50% of his ATP bonus pool share for the 2024 season due to missing two mandatory Masters 1000 events. While he has already missed the Italian Open because of an injury, his withdrawal from the Montreal tournament will trigger this penalty. The ATP bonus pool rewards players based on their performance at Masters 1000 events and the ATP Finals. Alcaraz, who topped the 2023 standings and earned $4.2 million, will obviously face a notable reduction in his bonus earnings.