Howdy yโall and welcome to Tennis Insider!
With 100 days to go until the WTA Finals, the tour’s hard-court swing rolls into Toronto this week for the Canadian Open, and the draw is stacked. Main draw play began Sunday at Sobeys Stadium and in two weeks, we’ll have our first potential frontrunner for the U.S. Open. Defending champion Victoria Mboko is out of the field because of injury, which is a tough break for Canadian tennis after her breakout run a year ago.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka headlines a field that also includes Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva and Iga ลwiฤ tek. Toss in Wimbledon champion Linda Noskovรก, who is playing her first tournament since winning at the All England Club, alongside eleven Grand Slam champions and four former National Bank Open winners: Jessica Pegula (2023, 2024), Elina Svitolina (2017), Belinda Bencic (2015) and Bianca Andreescu (2019).
Let’s go through the draw and see how things will unfold.
First quarter: Sabalenka’s path, with Svitolina lurking
Sabalenka opens as the top seed and gets a bye into the second round, joined in the section by fellow bye recipients No. 8 Amanda Anisimova and No. 9 Elina Svitolina, plus No. 16 Ekaterina Alexandrova, No. 18 Maja Chwaliลska, No. 24 Anastasia Potapova, No. 26 Jeฤผena Ostapenko and No. 27 Clara Tauson.
The second-round match to watch is Tauson against Nikola Bartunkova, who booked her berth by upsetting Andreescu 7-5, 6-2 to open the tournament. A couple of other second-round matchups worth watching in this section: Anisimova drawing qualifier Alina Korneeva, while Chwaliลska takes on Talia Gibson, who advanced when Elisabetta Cocciaretto retired in the first set.
Circle a potential quarterfinal between Sabalenka and Svitolina. The two haven’t played since the Australian Open in January, and the head-to-head currently sits 6-1 in Svitolina’s favor. If Svitolina can navigate the section, it sets up a fascinating gut-check for the new No. 1.
Second quarter: another Pegula-ลwiฤ tek collision course
No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 7 Iga ลwiฤ tek headline this section along with No. 10 Marta Kostyuk, No. 15 Diana Shnaider, No. 17 Anna Kalinskaya, No. 19 Madison Keys, No. 31 Donna Vekiฤ and No. 32 Kateลina Siniakovรก, all of whom start with byes.
The second-round match to watch is Kalinskaya against McCartney Kessler, who advanced by handling wild card Cadence Brace 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets. Kessler enters with momentum and will look to carry it into a tougher test against the seed.
The projected quarterfinal is Pegula against ลwiฤ tek, and it’s become a genuine rivalry. Pegula is essentially the defending champion of this event given her back-to-back titles the last time it was held in Ontario, and her best 2026 results have come on hard courts. However, ลwiฤ tek leads their head-to-head overall at 7-5, so it’s one matchup worth popping popcorn for.
Third quarter: Gauff and Noskovรก aiming for more glory
No. 4 Coco Gauff and No. 6 Linda Noskovรก anchor this quarter, with No. 12 Belinda Bencic, No. 13 Iva Jovic, No. 21 Marie Bouzkovรก, No. 23 Emma Navarro No. 25 Alexandra Eala and No. 29 Maria Sakkari rounding out the seeded byes.
Pencil in Gauff’s second rounder against fellow American Kayla Day. Day is finding her form again after injuries and the deaths of her parents over the last few years and her first round comeback win over Diane Parry was a nice highlight of the opening round.
But the section’s main event is the projected quarterfinal between Gauff and Noskovรก, two Grand Slam champions still building their rivalry. The pair has only met three times, but their most recent clash was a three-set thriller in Madrid that Noskovรก won. Both arrive in Toronto off strong Wimbledon showings, and for Gauff specifically, a deep run here matters for her position in the Race to the WTA Finals with the U.S. Open closing in.
Fourth quarter: Rybakina and Osaka, a hard-court rematch waiting to happen
The bottom quarter is loaded, with No.2 Elena Rybakina, No. 5 Mirra Andreeva, No. 11 Naomi Osaka, No. 14 Sorana Cรฎrstea, No. 20 Elise Mertens, No. 22 Barbora Krejฤรญkovรก, No. 28 Ann Li and No. 30 Leylah Fernandez all starting on byes.
The second-round match to watch is Andreeva against Karolรญna Plรญลกkovรก, who held her nerve to beat Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-4, 6-4 and earn a shot at the Roland Garros champion, which builds a nice test of experience against Andreeva’s rising form. Also worth following: Mertens taking on Anna Bondรกr and Li facing home wild card and LSU Tiger Kayla Cross, who scored her first-ever WTA Tour win over Katie Boulter.
The headline potential quarterfinal, though, is Rybakina against Osaka. Osaka was the runner-up in Montreal last year and has momentum from Wimbledon into the strong hard-court stretch, her best surface. Rybakina skipped this event the last time it was in Toronto, but has reached the semifinals in Montreal in each of the last two years.
How will things unfold?
I think in the quarterfinals, Sabalenka will knock out Anisimova, Pegula will take out Kostyuk, Gauff defeating Bencic and Rybakina taking a tough one over Andreeva.
From there, like always, I can’t bet against a Sabalenka-Rybakina final with a Sabalenka title. Toronto is important for both because technically Rybakina can overtake the No. 1 ranking.
Of course, you know how I am with predictions, so take it all with a grain of salt.
Now, on to links!
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the womenโs sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of womenโs sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!
This Week in Women’s Tennis
Alex Eala broke through to win her first WTA title at the Mubadala DC Open with a rain-delayed three-set upset over Jessica Pegula. The doubles title was taken by Erin Routliffe and Aldila Sutjiadi, who downed Andreja Klepaฤ and Makoto Ninomiya.
At the Memphis Classic, 16-year-old qualifier Kristina Liutova beat Georgia grad Darja Vidmanova to become the youngest active WTA champion. Learn more about Liutova here because you’re going to hear her name a lot. In doubles, Maia Lumsden and Maria Kozyreva defeated Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint.
Serena Williams and Venus Williams will reunite in doubles at the Cincinnati Open after accepting a wildcard.
The ITIA released the full decision of Markรฉta Vondrouลกovรก’s four-year ban for refusing to take a doping test.
The weeks after Wimbledon are usually a rest period for players, but this year saw quite a few amount of weddings including Katie Boulter, Daria Kasatkina and Asia Muhammad. I also loved this exclusive Ben Rothenberg did with Kasatkina around her wedding.
The WTA caught up with Hailey Baptiste, who’s undergoing rehab after surgery on her ACL that was torn at Roland Garros.
More pairs signed up for the U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament:
Aryna Sabalenka hopes to reset with the North American hardcourt swing, while Linda Noskovรก aims to build on her Grand Slam success at Wimbledon.
Kateลina Siniakovรก opened up about wanting to win a third gold medal to add to her collection at the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
On just one day’s notice, Naomi Osaka planned a “cookout” for fans at Washington D.C. to see her in a more relaxed setting.
The WTA Foundation was busy throughout the grass court season with a ton of events for a variety of health-related initiatives.
Five at The IX: Toronto Media Day
Q. Last year you withdrew for fatigue, and I’m just wondering if you could speak to the grind of this stretch leading into the US Open. There’s been withdrawals on the men’s side this year. I know the organizers weren’t all that happy about that. Would you speak to the grind that the players go through and sort of the awkward spot that this tournament is sometimes in on the schedule?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, it’s very tricky scheduling lots of tournaments, two-week tournaments. If you go far at the grass swing, like you kind of don’t have much time to reset, recharge, and go back on court to practice and then play the tournament, you don’t have much time for that. So kind of like skipping the vacation time, which is really needed after that big part of the season, so it’s tricky to schedule. Then if you go far in the grass court, you feel really fatigued and, like, you’re not able to pull out any good tennis, so what’s the reason of coming when your body is really under so much stress, not enough time for recovery, you kind of force your body too much, and then it can cause you an injury, so it’s very tricky. But this year I didn’t do well, so I’m here [laughing].
Q. Venus was in here yesterday, she’s still playing at the age of 46. Serena’s recently come back to the sport. What does that mean to you to see those two legends still involved in the game, and just for tennis overall to have them still going at it?
COCO GAUFF: I think it’s really, like, cool and great to watch. I grew up watching the Williams sisters, and the fact that there’s like maybe even two generations after me still being able to have that same experience is really insane. Just the aura they have, like I still get nervous every time I see them. I remember I was in Berlin and just waiting for the right time to say hi to Serena. Even yesterday, Venus was in the locker room and I had to give myself a deep breath before I said hi (laughing). It’s just the aura they bring to the sport, and also the longevity. I think it’s really incredible for any athlete in any profession, maybe except golf because it’s a little bit less compact, but just to have, be so great at a sport for so long. I mean, I don’t think I’ll be playing in my 40s, just, yeah, well, they said the same thing when they were my age, so we’ll see, but I hope not [laughing]. I think I should have other priorities maybe, but who knows. I think they definitely give inspiration for everybody to chase their dreams and no matter their age or where they are in career and what other people, naysayers may have to say.
Q. There’s so much depth these days on the WTA, so much talent in the top-10, but then you’ve got the younger players coming up, like Alex Eala, for example. Does it feel, as your career goes along, that it becomes tougher, that the competition becomes tougher to deal with on the women’s tour these days?
IGA ลWIฤTEK: No, because you always have these young players coming up, you know, it’s just that your perspective might change because you’re not so young anymore. You’re not like a rookie or already like established player, so the vibe of how you feel might change. But I think the tour overall will always have that mix of more experienced players and, you know, younger players. It’s normal, and it’s the circle of life. So I think the tour kind of lives in a circle, but for sure your situation changes.
Q. You mentioned it’s been a little crazy and chaotic since winning Wimbledon. Can you give some specifics about how life has been since becoming a Wimbledon and a Grand Slam champion?
LINDA NOSKOVร: Well, I did do a lot of things that I had to do, media-wise, especially in Czech Republic. There was a lot of just running around doing the media. But for me I definitely had to find some time to kind of find my vacation as well. I did spend a few days in Italy, which was nice. I did see my family. So it was kind of a mix of all the crazy things with all the chill things.
Q. Elaborating on that process, what’s it been like for you going through these 125K tournaments, challengers, and going through qualifying, what have you learned about your self?
BIANCA ANDREESCU: Well, what I’ve learned is the level there is super high. Like, I don’t want anybody to think, Oh, it’s a 75K, 35K, 125, whatever, like, the level is very, very high and all my matches have been difficult. The difference is just the environment, right? Like, you’re not playing in front of bigger crowds. Just, yeah, just organization, it’s just different. When you come here, there’s TV and media, all that type of stuff. So it was more going back to my roots, right, because that’s where I started. So it didn’t feel bizarre at all. I was just very grateful to be able to play those tournaments and go deep in them because that was the whole goal for me. I got what I wanted. I’ve learned so much about myself. I know that I can play in any type of environment, I think that’s one thing, and against anyone. I try to put my best foot forward in everything that I do, and I just want to continue doing that, whether it’s at a 75K or at a Grand Slam.
Rep The IX Sports at your next game!
Shop the logo collection or special “Womenโs Sports are Front Page News” collection now on Shopify.
Soccer: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Womenโs Soccer
Tennis: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Basketball: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Softball: Maren Angus-Coombs, @Maren-Angus, The IX Sports
Golf: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports
Hockey: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden
Gymnastics: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer
