Kayla Cross (London, ON) clinched a wild card into the main draw of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers (NBO) after defeating American Elizabeth Mandlik 5-7, 7-6(9), 6-2 in the semi-final of the Granby National Bank Championships. She secured her spot through the Road to the NBO competition, which awards a National Bank Open main-draw wild card to the top-performing Canadian based on points earned at professional tournaments held on Canadian soil.
Introduced in 2025, Cross has finished atop the women’s Road to the NBO standings in both editions of the competition. The men’s Road the NBO wild card has yet to be clinched and will be decided at next week’s Winnipeg National Bank Challenger.
“I’m incredibly excited to be returning to the National Bank Open presented by Rogers,” said Cross. “It’s a privilege to compete in front of Canadian fans at one of the biggest tournaments in the world, and I’m looking forward to being back in Toronto in a few weeks. Right now, my focus is on finishing strong here in Granby, but I can’t wait to return to the tournament I grew up watching and dreaming of playing. See you soon, Toronto!”
Cross' Road to the NBO campaign included a second-round appearance at the Saguenay National Bank Challenger last October, a semi-final showing at the Tevlin Challenger in Toronto, and now a spot in the finals in Granby, Quebec. She will play for the Granby title on Sunday against Japan's Sara Saito.
This marks the third main-draw wild card announced for this year’s WTA tournament, with five still to be awarded. The two previously awarded have gone to seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and four-time Olympic gold medallist Venus Williams, and Canadian Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 NBO and US Open champion.
