Time flies when you are having fun. We are already halfway through Wimbledon, the most prestigious tournament on the tennis calendar, and the Canadian focus has concentrated on a familiar face.
A year ago, Gabriela Dabrowski got to the final at the All-England Club and now, as her compatriots all saw their campaigns end early in singles, she carries the nation’s hopes on the lawns of southwest London.
Here’s what you need to know.
In Case You Missed It: Short Stay at the All-England Club
Eight days into the 2025 Wimbledon Championships and the field has thinned considerably. Despite a large Canadian contingent in the singles events in SW19, it was a fairly short week for the Canucks, with all six having bowed out by the end of Thursday.
Four of the six Canadians in the singles main draw got to the second round. Gabriel Diallo and Victoria Mboko, who got in as a lucky loser, both picked up their first-ever main-draw victories at the All-England Club in their debuts.
Diallo defeated Daniel Altmaier in straight sets for his maiden win before pushing world No. 5 Taylor Fritz to five sets in the second round. Mboko scored the biggest win of her career in round one against world No. 29 Magdalena Frech before bowing out in round two against Hailey Baptiste.
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Félix Auger-Aliassime snapped a three-year losing streak at Wimbledon with his first-round win over James Duckworth. He was eliminated in the second round by Jan-Lennard Struff. Leylah Annie Fernandez beat local wildcard Hannah Klugman in the first round before falling to Laura Siegemund in round two.
Denis Shapovalov was shocked in the first round by Mariano Navone. Carson Branstine was the lone Canadian to come through qualifying and made her Grand Slam main draw debut at the All-England Club. However, the draws gods were cruel to her and she was beaten by world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the first round.
Only Gabriela Dabrowski made it through the first week of Wimbledon. She and Erin Routliffe are through to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles without having dropped a set.
However, Dabrowski did lose in the first round of mixed doubles with Nikola Mektic. Diallo and Fernandez also lost their respective first-round doubles matches.
What to Watch: Dabrowski Eyes Another Deep Run
Just like 2024, Canadian title hopes at Wimbledon rest primarily on the shoulders of Gabriela Dabrowski. She and Erin Routliffe, the second seeds in the women’s doubles, advanced to the quarter-finals with another straight-set win on Monday.
Next up for the 2023 US Open champions are the eighth seeds Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens. A win would set up a semifinal clash with either Olivia Gadecki and Desirae Krawczyk or sixteenth seeds Caroline Dolehide and Sofia Kenin.
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Nadia Lagaev is the only other Canadian remaining at the All-England Club. Canada’s top junior lost in the first round of singles over the weekend but will also compete in the girls doubles with Nauhany Vitoria Leme de Silva of Brazil. They play eighth seeds Kristina Penickova and Vendula Valdmannova in the first round.
Under the Radar: Home-Soil Win for Chan
Pro tennis returned to Canada last week, with an ITF M25 event in Laval, QC, kicking off what will be a busy month in the Great White North.
The host nation had a winner in Laval, with Duncan Chan winning his second professional doubles title alongside American Cooper Woestendick. They did not drop a set on their way to the title, which included wins over the top two seeded teams.
Justin Boulais made the biggest leap in the Road to the NBO by reaching the singles final in Laval. He upset the second and fourth seeds on his way to his first singles final of the season, where he lost to Blaise Bicknell. Boulais is now second in the Road to the NBO standings behind Liam Draxl with two events remaining.
CLICK HERE to read the full Laval recap.
Action continues this week in Canada with an ATP Challenger event in Winnipeg, MB. Draxl could clinch top spot in the Road to the NBO and a wildcard into the National Bank Open event if he wins the title. Boulais and Alexis Galarneau, who sit second and third in the Road to the NBO, as well as seventh-place Juan Carlos Aguilar all got direct entry into the main draw.
Read also: Sabalenka, Gauff, Pegula and Swiatek Set to Headline 2025 National Bank Open in Montreal
Draxl is arriving in good form in Manitoba, fresh off a finals run last week at the ATP Challenger event in Cary, North Carolina, his Challenger Tour-leading fifth singles final of 2025. He lost in the title match to Rei Sakamoto. Cadence Brace reached the semifinals of the simultaneous ITF W100 in Cary.
It’s a very busy week on Canadian soil not just at the pro level. The Kamloops Legacy Wheelchair tennis event in British Columbia has most of the nation’s best wheelchair tennis players in action, while a few hours southwest down the TransCanada Highway, the juniors are competing at an ITF J100 in Vancouver.
Back east, the nation’s capital is playing host to a one-day ITF Beach Tennis event on Saturday.
Outside of Canada, there is a large group of Canucks competing at the WTA 125/ATP Challenger Hall of Fame Open in Newport, RI, including Eugenie Bouchard who is competing in her first event since last summer’s National Bank Open in Toronto.
You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.
Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
