Welcome to the Road to the National Bank Open. Every week, we will keep you updated on all the action on the WTA Tour as we build towards the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Toronto, which takes place from Aug. 8 to 14.
DAYS UNTIL THE NATIONAL BANK OPEN: 6
We are less than a week away from the start of main draw action at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers. Beginning Monday, the best WTA players in the world will play for one of the most prestigious trophies in the sport at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto.
The draw ceremony will be conducted on Friday to determine the matchups for what promises to be an exciting week of tennis. The top 16 seeds will be based on this week’s rankings which means that World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and world no. 2 Anett Kontaveit will occupy the top and bottom lines of the draw, respectively. Maria Sakkari, Paula Badosa, and Ons Jabeur will round out the top 5 seeds in this year’s tournament. Meanwhile, Canadian Leylah Fernandez will be seeded no. 13.
The top eight seeds will receive an opening round bye and begin their title bid on either Tuesday or Wednesday. Before that happens, there is some business to take care of during this first week of the summer hard court swing in San Jose and Washington.
ON-COURT ACTION:
SAN JOSE
It’s an impressive draw at the WTA 500 event in California featuring the likes of Sakkari, Badosa, and Jabeur. There’s also the returning Naomi Osaka, who hasn’t played since the French Open, Canadian Bianca Andreescu, who will face American Shelby Rogers in the opening round, and Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina played her first tournament since winning her first Grand Slam title.
WASHINGTON
The WTA 250 event in Washington also boasts an exciting draw which is headlined by the much-anticipated singles return of the legendary Venus Williams. Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula, Emma Raducanu, Simona Halep, and Victoria Azarenka are the top seeds.
STORIES TO WATCH:
WILLIAMS VS. MARINO: A REMATCH 12 YEARS LATER
Venus Williams’ first singles match since last summer was against none other than Canadian Rebecca Marino, who successfully qualified for the main draw in Washington over the weekend. The two first played each other back in 2010 at the U.S. Open which Venus won in straight sets, but not without a fight. She was also very complimentary of her opponent after the contest.
Their rematch happened Monday night and Marino exacted her revenge with an impressive victory 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory.
A SERENA SIGHTING IN WASHINGTON
Serena Williams, who is set to play in Toronto next week, has been spotted on the practice courts in Washington getting ready with sister Venus for her return to Canada.
POTENTIAL ENTICING SECOND ROUND MATCHES
With two great WTA draws this week, the potential matches as early as round two are especially enticing. In San Jose, Andreescu could meet Sakkari, Osaka could play Coco Gauff, and Jabeur might face Madison Keys.
In Washington, Raducanu could meet former world no. 4 Sofia Kenin in the second round.
OFF-COURT BUZZ:
Former World No. 1 and the recently retired Ashleigh Barty has married her long-time partner Garry Kissick after the pair got engaged at the end of last year. Congrats to the newlyweds!
While in Washington, Serena is being quite the prankster!
While in San Jose, Ons Jabeur met soccer legend Brandi Chastain.
Don’t miss your chance to see the best WTA players up close this summer. Get your tickets now!
