The Canadian Open is officially wrapped up, ending a two-week display of world-class tennis across both tours.
On the men’s side, Ben Shelton clinched his first Masters 1000 title after defeating Karen Khachanov in the final.
In the women’s singles tournament, 18-year-old Canadian home hope Victoria Mboko took the tennis world by storm, defeating Naomi Osaka in the championship match.
The event featured a new 12-day format, which saw both finals played on a Thursday, instead of the weekend, when they would typically take place.
Following the conclusion of the competition, tournament director Karl Hale explained how he thought the new layout played out.
Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty ImagesKarl Hale reflects on the Canadian Open’s midweek finals
Featuring on an episode of ‘Nothing Major’, Hale said of the midweek final: “It’s definitely different and unique. I don’t think we should be reactive to it.
“From a local standpoint, it really helps with corporate Canada, because Monday-Thursday we call it our Championship Week, so they can host clients a lot more freely than they can from Friday-Sunday.
“It really helps us in that regard. I think it’s new, so it will be a little bit of learning and growing pains as we move along for viewers and broadcasts around the world, but it’s new and fresh and unique.
“Football did their Thursday Night Football years ago, and many, many years ago, it was Monday Night Football that was new. So this was new. I think just look at it and dive into it and see where it takes us.
The changes made to the ATP calendar for the 2025 season
In March 2024, changes to the 2025 ATP calendar were announced, which saw two more Masters events expand to 12 days.
Both the Cincinnati Open and the Canadian Open were made longer, meaning seven of the nine Masters series had now adopted the new format, following the expansion of Madrid and Shanghai in 2023.
The enhancements are central to the ATP Tour‘s ‘One Vision’ project, which chairman Andrea Gaudenzi says seeks to “create the best possible experience for our fans”.
As it stands, no changes will be made to the Masters format in 2026.