Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday the names of the players who have received the first Wild Cards into the 2019 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank in Toronto. Eugenie Bouchard (Montreal, QC) and Leylah Annie Fernandez (Laval, QC) were invited into the main draw for the WTA Premier 5 tournament at the Sobeys Stadium.
Canada will be well represented in Toronto, as at least three players will compete on the big stage, including world no. 26 Bianca Andreescu (Mississauga, ON). This is a testament to the stellar performances that Canadian players have had since the start of the year.
Bouchard will be competing at the Rogers Cup for a 12th time, with her best result coming in 2016 when she reached the third round. The 25-year-old reached has made runs to the quarter-finals in two WTA tournaments since the start of the year.
Fernandez will be making her Rogers Cup main draw debut, having lost in the final round of qualifying in Montreal last year. At just 16 years of age, she is already making a name for herself, notably becoming the first Canadian player to be crowned champion at the junior French Open. She also won her first professional titles (in singles and doubles) just a few weeks ago at the Gatineau National Bank Challenger and reached the final at the Granby Challenger.
Unfortunately, Rebecca Marino (Vancouver, BC) will be unable to compete at the Rogers Cup in Toronto this year. She is still recovering from a foot injury that she has been dealing with for the past few months.
Two WTA Wild Cards have been given to Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams. These are reserved for players who have previously been ranked No. 1 in the world, who were ranked in the Top 20 in 2018 or who have won a Grand Slam title, a WTA Finals title or a Premier Mandatory tournament during their career. Sharapova and Williams will definitely add to the star power in Toronto, with a combined 12 Grand Slam titles between the two players.
There is one main draw Wild Card left to be awarded in Toronto, which will be announced at a later date.
Wild Cards for Qualifying Draw
The Wild Cards for the qualifying events were also announced. Katherine Sebov (Toronto, ON), Françoise Abanda (Montreal, QC), Carol Zhao (Richmond Hill, ON) and Gabriela Dabrowski (Ottawa, ON) will all compete in the qualifying draw. Two additional spots are also reserved for the finalists of the prequalifying tournament which will be held at the Sobeys Stadium from July 30 to August 1.
Owned and operated by Tennis Canada, the prestigious Rogers Cup presented by National Bank attracts the biggest stars in tennis year after year. In 2019, the women’s event will take place at the Sobeys Stadium in Toronto from August 3 to 11.
Tickets are on sale online at nbostg.rain-digital.com for the Toronto tournament.
Sportsnet is the official English broadcaster and TVA Sports is the official French broadcaster of the 2019 Rogers Cup.
