Wimbledon is now just a week away and the action is heating up on the grass. In fact, play is already underway in qualifying for The Championships with heavy Canadian content.
On the main tours, Canada’s top stars are getting their reps in, including one player who had been struggling but is heating up at the right time.
Here’s what you need to know.
In Case You Missed It: Fernandez Bounces Back
It has been a difficult few months for Leylah Annie Fernandez but the Canadian No. 1 had her best showing since February last week at the WTA 250 event in Nottingham. She beat Suzan Lamens in three sets and Cristina Busca in straight sets to get to her first quarter-final since Abu Dhabi. She lost in the last eight to Dayana Yastremska.
Bianca Andreescu was competing at the WTA 500 event in Berlin but lost in the first round to Amanda Anisimova.
All three Canadian men in action last week lost in the second round of their respective ATP 500 events.
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Félix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov were competing in Halle. Auger-Aliassime won his opener over qualifier Laslo Djere in three sets before falling in three to eighth seed Karen Khachanov. Shapovalov upset sixth seed Ugo Humbert in the first round in a third-set tiebreak but fell to Flavio Cobolli in another third-set breaker in his following match.
Gabriel Diallo followed up his maiden title in s-Hertogenbosch by winning his opening match at the Queen’s Club over local wildcard Billy Harris before his six-match winning streak came to an end in round two at the hands of the eventual runner-up Jiri Lehecka in straight sets. He is up to a career-high ranking of No. 41.
What to Watch: Final Pre-Wimbledon Prep
Four Canadians opted for some last-minute prep ahead of next week’s Championships at the All-England Club.
Leylah Annie Fernandez is already off and running in Bad Homburg, avenging her first-round loss at the Queen’s Club earlier this month to Tatjana Maria with a straight-set win on Sunday. The Canadian has her hands full, though, as she will meet world No. 4 Jasmine Paolini in the second round.
Even if she pulls the upset, the road will not get any easier for Fernandez as her quarter-final opponent would be Elina Svitolina, Ashlyn Krueger, or Beatriz Haddad Maia. The Lavalloise needs a strong performance this week at the WTA 250 event as she is dropping runner-up points from Eastbourne.
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Gabriela Dabrowski was back in action for the first time since mid-May, having skipped Roland-Garros with an injury. She and Erin Routliffe were the top seeds in Bad Homburg but lost in the first round on Monday to Xinyu Jiang and Fang-Hsien Wu 10-8 in a match tiebreak.
Félix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriel Diallo are both spending their pre-Wimbledon week competing in sunny Mallorca at the ATP 250 event. Auger-Aliassime is the second seed and has a first-round bye. He will meet either Damir Dzumhur or Arthur Rinderknech in the second round. His quarter-final opponent would be Roman Safiullin or Hamad Medjedovic.
Diallo defeated Jaume Munar in straight sets on Monday to kick off his campaign. He will face Laslo Djere in the second round and is projected to face No. 4 seed Tallon Griekspoor in the quarter-finals. The two Canadian men are both in the bottom half of the draw and could meet in the semifinals.
Under the Radar: Branstine, Andreescu in Loaded Qualifying Section at Wimbledon
Qualifying for the 2025 Wimbledon championships got underway on Sunday. Seven Canadians, five women and two men, are looking to punch their tickets to the main draw.
On the women’s side, you don’t have to look far down the draw to find the most fascinating, and frustrating, Canadian section.
Carson Branstine will take on the top seed in women’s qualifying, French Open semifinalist Lois Boisson, in the first round of qualies. If she pulls the upset, her reward could be countrywoman Bianca Andreescu, who opens against Brazilian Laura Pigossi, in the second round.
Victoria Mboko is the sixth seed in qualifying and opens against Japan’s Nao Hibino. The Canadian teen, who qualified for her first major at Roland-Garros, is in the same section as No. 30 seed Priscilla Hon.
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Rebecca Marino is the ninth seed and plays Czech Gabriela Knutson in her first match. The other seed in her section is No. 23 Shuai Zhang.
Kayla Cross’ bid to reach her first Grand Slam main draw begins against Patricia Maria Tig of Romania. A win would set up a clash with No. 16 seed Robin Montgomery in the second round, with No. 28 seed Jessika Ponchet awaiting in the final round.
Alexis Galarneau notched his first victory on Sunday, beating Murphy Cassone in three sets. He will face wildcard Oliver Tarvet in the second round, with either 29th seed Alexander Blockx or Timofey Skatov potentially standing between him and a spot in the main draw in the final round.
Liam Draxl was the other Canadian in the men’s draw but lost his opening match to No. 25 seed Dusan Lajovic.
The best Canadian result on the ITF Tour last week came in Tulsa, where Justin Boulais reached the quarter-finals, losing to the eventual champion Alex Martinez. Duncan Chan also reached the doubles quarter-finals.
You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.
Feature Photo: Bad Homburg Open
