Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have both withdrawn from the Montreal Masters, ONE reports, dealing a heavy blow to the star power of the ATP Masters 1000 event just weeks before the US Open.

Tennis Canada confirmed the pair's exits from the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, which runs August 1-13 in Montreal, after both had originally been entered in the draw.

Sinner, the world No. 1, is coming off a punishing Wimbledon campaign in which he beat Djokovic in the semi-final and Alexander Zverev in the final to retain his title. "After carefully considering all the factors together with my team, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw from Montreal," the Italian said. "It is never easy to miss such an important event, but we believe this is the right decision to prioritize my health. I am disappointed not to be there and look forward to returning to Montreal in the future."

Djokovic, who reached that same Wimbledon semi-final before falling to Sinner in straight sets, gave no further public explanation beyond the shared emphasis on managing his body through the demanding hard-court swing.

Their withdrawals were compounded by news that Carlos Alcaraz has also pulled out of Montreal, sidelined by a wrist injury, stripping the field of three of the sport's biggest draws in one stroke.

Tournament director Valerie Tetreault made no secret of her frustration, saying Masters 1000 events "are among the flagship tournaments on the tour, and fans rightfully expect to see the world's best compete." Both Sinner and Djokovic also skipped last year's Toronto edition, when the men's event was staged in the other host city under the National Bank Open's city-alternating format.

With the headline acts gone, Zverev - the reigning French Open champion and beaten Wimbledon finalist - is now projected as Montreal's top seed, with Canadian favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime, who will have the home crowd behind him, seeded second.

The rest of the field still carries plenty of quality: Alex de Minaur, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli and Taylor Fritz are among the other top-10 players committed to Montreal, alongside Ben Shelton, who arrives as the defending champion from last year's edition.

The tournament now serves as the last big tune-up before the US Open, which begins August 30 in New York - the major both Sinner and Djokovic are clearly husbanding their bodies for.