For just the second time in history, a Canadian is a top-three seed in singles at a Grand Slam event. Félix Auger-Aliassime is seeded third at Wimbledon, which gets underway on Monday after the draw was made on Friday morning in London.
His No. 3 seeding matches the highest ever in singles by a Canadian at a major after Milos Raonic was in the same spot at the 2017 Australian Open.
Auger-Aliassime is one of five Canadians competing in singles this year at Wimbledon. He is joined on the men’s side by Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Diallo, while Leylah Annie Fernandez and Bianca Andreescu are in the women’s draw.
The draw was not kind to the Montrealer at this historic tournament, however. He has landed in the same quarter as seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic and is in the top half of the draw with world No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner.
Before he has to worry about the two biggest names in the draw, Auger-Aliassime will start his campaign against Aleksandr Shevchenko. The Canadian won their lone previous matchup three years ago on indoor hard courts in Basel on his way to that title, although he edged out the meeting in a third-set tiebreak.
A win over Shevchenko would set up a round-two clash with either Adam Walton or Dino Prizmic before his run of big-name opponents could begin. In round three, he is projected to meet No. 26 seed and local favourite Cameron Norrie, who reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2022. No. 16 seed Learner Tien is Auger-Aliassime's projected round-of-sixteen opponent. The Montrealer just edged out the American in a three-set thriller in Halle last week.
Djokovic, the seventh seed this year at Wimbledon, is expected to be waiting in the quarter-finals, although he has a loaded section that also includes Andrey Rublev, Joao Fonseca (who beat the Serb at Roland-Garros), and Arthur Rinderknech.
Sinner would most likely be Auger-Aliassime's semifinal opponent.
Auger-Aliassime reached his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon in 2021 but has struggled at the All-England Club since. He has gone 1-4 in his last four trips to SW19, snapping a three-match losing streak last year, only to go out in the second round.
The last time a Canadian was seeded this high in singles at a major, Raonic got to the quarter-finals of that Australian Open before falling to Rafael Nadal.
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Shapovalov is also in the top half of the men’s draw and faces a familiar foe in round one. The Richmond Hillian will clash with former National Bank Open champion Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round, which will be the ninth meeting between the two. Carreno Busta leads their head-to-head 6-2, including a win earlier this year in Dubai. This will be their first meeting on grass.
If he finds a way past that Spaniard, Shapovalov could meet another one in round two, 23rd seed Rafael Jodar. The 19-year-old was a breakout star on clay this spring and will be making his Wimbledon debut.
No. 14 seed Luciano Darderi would be the Canadian’s projected third-round opponent if he upsets Jodar, with the top seed Sinner likely waiting in round four. Shapovalov’s best Grand Slam performance came at the All-England Club back in 2021, when he reached the semis. Since then, his best result was the fourth round in 2023 (when a knee injury derailed his campaign) and he lost in round one a year ago.
Gabriel Diallo is the lone Canadian man in the bottom half of the draw and could have some deja-vu early at Wimbledon. He opens against Benjamin Bonzi and could meet Tomas Martin Etcheverry, whom the Montrealer just defeated this week in Eastbourne, in round two.
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If he gets to round three, Diallo could have a shot at revenge against No. 6 seed Taylor Fritz, who edged out the Canadian in a five-set thriller last year at Wimbledon. However, Fritz himself has a tough road to round three as he will have to battle through the biggest popcorn match of the draw in round one against British favourite Jack Draper.
This will be just Diallo’s second appearance in the Wimbledon main draw.
Diallo is not the only Canadian looking for revenge for a previous Grand Slam defeat. Leylah Annie Fernandez has a chance to avenge her first-round loss at this year’s Australian Open when she takes on the crafty Janice Tjen in round one. The Indonesian won their clash in Melbourne in straight sets.
At No. 22, Fernandez is the only seeded Canadian on the women’s side. Her difficulties don’t stop at Tjen, though. If she gets her revenge, the Lavalloise could face former world No. 8 Daria Kasatkina in round two if the Aussie gets past local wildcard Mimi Xu. No. 14 seed Naomi Osaka is Fernandez’s first potential seeded opponent in round three.
Fernandez is in the top section of the draw, meaning she could meet world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in round four. Another possibility in the round of sixteen is a rematch of the 2021 US Open final against Emma Raducanu.
Bianca Andreescu was the lone Canadian to qualify for the main draw, beating Polona Hercog, Jil Teichmann, and Aliaksandra Sasnovich to punch her ticket to the All-England Club. Two of the three wins were in straight sets, with the Teichmann match going three.
Her reward for qualifying is a round-one meeting with Zhang Shuai, with No. 10 seed Karolina Muchova potentially looming in round two. Andreescu’s section of the draw also contains both Roland-Garros finalists: 20th seed Maja Chwalinska (a possible third-round opponent) and No. 5 Mirra Andreeva (they could meet in round four).
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Six other Canadians competed in qualifying. Katherine Sebov came close to sneaking in, getting into the qualifying draw at the last minute as an alternate and then reaching the third round, only to come up just short in a third-set tiebreak against Iryna Shymanovich. Alexis Galarneau was eliminated in the second round of qualies, while Cadence Brace, Kayla Cross, Carol Zhao, and Liam Draxl all lost in the first round.
In doubles, Gabriela Dabrowski is the second seed alongside Luisa Stefani. They play Alexa Guarachi and Alicja Rosolska in the first round, with No. 14 seeds Storm Hunter and Caty McNally their first potential seeded opponents in the third round. No. 6 seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini are their projected quarter-final opponents.
Wimbledon is the only major where Dabrowski has never won any title (either women’s or mixed doubles), although she is a two-time finalist in women’s doubles.
Fernandez is also in doubles alongside Yulia Putintseva. They play third seeds Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic in the first round.
No Canadians are competing in the men’s doubles. The mixed draw has yet to be made.
Main-draw play begins on Monday at the All-England Club. The top halves of both draws are expected to be on Monday, meaning Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov, Fernandez, and Andreescu will all be playing their first-round matches on day one.
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Feature Photo: Martin Sidorjak
