From a Canadian perspective, the US Open is giving off some 2021 vibes with Leylah Annie Fernandez and Félix Auger-Aliassime shining under the lights.
The two Canadians are playing some of their best tennis at the final major of the year, with Fernandez doing so alongside one of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
Here’s what you need to know.
In Case You Missed It: Fernandez-Williams Duo Steals the Show
It is hard to imagine that a team with two big-name players like Fernandez and Venus Williams could “come from nowhere” but that is essentially what happened in week one of the US Open. A last-minute phone call from the 23-time (singles and doubles) Grand Slam champion to the young Canadian created a team that is now into the quarter-finals of the US Open.
Fernandez and Williams, who quite literally entered the event the night before the draw, reached the last eight in New York without dropping a set. That included two wins over seeded teams: No. 6 Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez in round one and Ekaterina Alexandrova and Shuai Zhang in the third round.
For the 45-year-old Williams, it is her deepest run at a major in any field since 2017. For the 22-year-old Fernandez, she last reached the quarter-finals of a major at this same venue in the same draw back in 2023 alongside Taylor Townsend.
It is not just Williams turning back the clock. Albeit in a much less dramatic fashion, Félix Auger-Aliassime is in the midst of his best run at a Grand Slam in years. The Montrealer is through to the quarter-finals of the US Open, his first time in the last eight of a major since the 2022 Australian Open.
He has done it in style too. The Canadian has dropped just one set in four matches. In round three, he scored his biggest win at a Grand Slam event, defeating world No. 3 Alexander Zverev for his first Top 5 win at a major.
That win came after straight-set victories over Billy Harris and Roman Safiullin, the first time since the 2024 French Open that the Montrealer got past the second round of a slam. He followed up the upset of Zverev with a dominant straight-set win over Andrey Rublev, whom he had only beaten once before in eight meetings.
Gabriela Dabrowski’s strong run of form in the summer has carried over to New York as well. She and Erin Routliffe are also into the women’s doubles quarter-finals. Their road was a little rockier than Fernandez and Williams, needing three sets in their second-round win. But they backed it up with a straight-set victory over their first seeded opponents, No. 13 Cristina Busca and Nicole Melichar-Martinez, in the third round.
Fernandez and Denis Shapovalov suffered similar fates in singles, both putting up respectable fights but ultimately falling to the world No. 1 in the third round.
Like Auger-Aliassime, Fernandez had her best showing at the US Open since 2021, her miraculous finals run, beating countrywoman Rebecca Marino on her way to round three, where she went down in two tough sets against Aryna Sabalenka. Shapovalov managed to take the first set against Jannik Sinner before ultimately falling in four sets.
Montreal champion Victoria Mboko’s US Open debut did not go the way anyone hoped. Up against a brutal first-round draw in the form of two-time Grand Slam singles champion Barbora Krejcikova and dealing with a nagging wrist injury, the 18-year-old bowed out in her opening match.
Gabriel Diallo was unable to back up his third-round appearance in New York from 2024, stumbling in round two against Jaume Munar.
Cleeve Harper made his Grand Slam debut last week at the US Open, partnering Jean-Julien Rojer in the men’s doubles and picking up his first major win in a thriller against Theo Arribage and Benjamin Bonzi. The Canadian-Dutch duo lost in round two to 10th seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.
In the juniors draw, Nadia Lagaev got to the second round of the girls singles where she lost to top seed Julieta Pareja. Nicolas Arseneault lost in round one on the boys side. Both Canadian juniors are still in their respective doubles draws.
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What to Watch: Opportunity for Auger-Aliassime
Coming into the 2025 US Open, the bar for Félix Auger-Aliassime to improve on his recent performances in New York was pretty low. Now in week two, the Canadian No. 1 has a very real chance to match his best-ever performance at a major.
On Wednesday, the Montrealer will take on world No. 8 Alex de Minaur for a spot in the semifinals, which would tie Auger-Aliassime's deepest run at a slam. That also happened at the US Open back in 2021.
Auger-Aliassime leads their head-to-head 2-1, having won both of their previous hard-court meetings in straight sets. De Minaur did win the most recent meeting, but it was by the skin of his teeth last year in Rome on clay.
The winner will face an Italian in the semis, either world No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner or world No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti.
Read also: ATP Power Rankings - Sinner, Alcaraz Looking for History in New York
While Auger-Aliassime is the lone Canadian left in singles, Canada is well represented in women’s doubles. At time of publication, both Gabriela Dabrowski and Leylah Annie Fernandez are still alive in that draw and both play their quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Fernandez faces a big challenge as she and Venus Williams look to keep their Cinderella story going. They are taking on top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in the quarters.
Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, the third seeds, are facing off with the 11th-seeded team of Timea Babos and Luisa Stefani and could play second seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the semis.
Read also: WTA Power Rankings - Can the Stars Bounce Back at the US Open?
Rob Shaw joins the fray in New York this week as the wheelchair events get underway. Shaw and Aussie partner Heath Davidson play their opening match of the quad doubles on Tuesday against Gregory Slade and Jin Woodman. The Canadian will play his first singles match on Wednesday against Andrew Bogdanov.
Nadia Lagaev plays her opening match in the girls doubles draw on Tuesday alongside American Maya Iyengar. On the boys side, Nicolas Arseneault is already through to round two of the boys doubles with Aussie Cruz Hewitt, son of former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt.
Under the Radar
The largest ITF junior event in Canada, the J300 Internationaux Junior Banque Nationale de Repentigny in Repentigny, QC, took place last week, with Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil and Ksenia Efremova of France claiming the singles titles.
Canada had at least one quarter-finalist in all four draws but that was the best the host nation managed.
CLICK HERE for the full Repentigny recap.
The largest of Canada’s national championships, the Steve Stevens Masters Tennis Championships, took place last week in Vancouver, BC, with over 570 competitors vying for national titles. The event wrapped up on Saturday.
Photo : Gerry Krips
Come back to tenniscanada.com on Wednesday for the full recap of the Steve Stevens Masters Tennis Championships.
On the professional circuit last week, the best Canadian result came in Telavi, Georgia, where Alexandra Vagramov was narrowly edged out in the final of the ITF W15 event in a thrilling three-set final.
This week, there is heavy Canadian presence at the WTA 125 events on the calendar with Carson Branstine competing in Montreux, Switzerland, Carol Zhao in Changsha China, and Rebecca Marino and Marina Stakusic in Guadalajara, Mexico.
You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.
Feature Photo : Martin Sidorjak
