Kayla Cross punched her ticket into the 2026 National Bank Open presented by Rogers main draw after securing the Road to the NBO wildcard in Granby – the same place she clinched her spot last year.
Meanwhile, there is still all to play for in the men’s Road to the NBO as three Canadians finished in the quarter-finals of the ATP Granby National Bank Challenger.
W75
Cross had a tough path to the Granby final. The London-native defeated three fellow Canadians on her way to the semis, coming back from a set down against Annabelle Xu in her opening match before easing by Ana Grubor in round two.
After beating Rebecca Marino in three sets, Cross was on the verge of a semifinal exit as she found herself down 7-5, 5-1 against top-seed Elizabeth Mandlik. Unfazed, the No. 3 seed rallied to win the second set 11-9 in the tiebreaker, then capped off her comeback by taking the decider 6-2. Cross clinched the Road to the NBO wildcard for the second-straight time thanks to the victory.
However, this year, the 21-year-old will bring a Granby title into the National Bank Open in Toronto, following her 7-5, 6-1 win over Sara Saito of Japan in the final. The title is Cross’ biggest of her career so far.
Read also: Tennis Canada’s Focus on Doubles Through its “Double-Double” Fund
The Canuck was one-win short of reaching the doubles final as well but lost to Americans Kylie Collins and Olivia Lincer in the semis, who later defeated Canadians Mia Kupres and Alexandra Vagramov for the title. Vagramov won the doubles crown at the event last year.
ATP Challenger
The Granby National Bank Championships were all about the top seeds.
No. 1 seed Aleksander Vukic of Australia defeated Canadians Nicolas Arseneault and Alexis Galarneau before putting an end to August Holmgren’s title defence in the semifinals. Vukic then needed three sets to beat second-seed Arthur Gea for the trophy.
The men’s Road to the NBO does have a new leader following Granby though. Keegan Rice’s second-round finish was enough to overtake Duncan Chan after the Markhamite couldn’t win his opening match. Rice now sits one point above Chan with Liam Draxl – who reached the Granby quarters – just eight points back.
Justin Boulais earned his biggest result of the Road to the NBO with a quarter-final finish as well, but sits 24 points behind Rice for the lead.
Read also: 2026 National Bank Open Montreal Players - Meet the ATP Top 10
In doubles, the all-Kiwi team of Finn Reynolds and James Watt successfully defended their title. The top seeds conceded just one set in their four matches, winning 6-3, 6-4 in the final against Guillaume Dalmasso of France and Matt Kuhar of the United States.
The Davis Cup is coming to Quebec City September 18 and 19 as Team Canada hosts France in the Davis Cup Qualifiers Second Round. Tickets are on sale now. CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS!
Feature Photo: Sarah-Jade Champagne
