With the volume of Canadians in action in the early rounds of Indian Wells last week, Canadian fans back home surely were very entertained.
A huge Canadian contingent descended on Tennis Paradise for the first combined 1000-level event last week. There were so many in the draw that we even had an all-Canadian clash in the third round.
But don’t go anywhere, there is still a week to go in the desert. Here’s what you need to know.
In Case You Missed It: Canadians Everywhere in Tennis Paradise
The opening days of the 2026 BNP Paribas Open were among the busiest ever for the Canadians at a 1000-level event.
A whopping eight were entered in the singles draw, one of the largest contingents from the Great White North ever seen at an event outside of Canada. Three of those Canucks were making their debuts in Tennis Paradise.
As she has done all around the world over the last 12 months, Victoria Mboko is shining in her first trip to Indian Wells. Making her debut as a Top-10 player at this event, the 19-year-old reached the round of sixteen without losing a set. She defeated Kimberly Birrell and No. 23 seed Anna Kalinskaya without too much fuss in her opening matches.
Sadly, Mboko was the lone Canadian woman to pick up a match win in the desert in singles this year. Leylah Annie Fernandez, Bianca Andreescu, and Marina Stakusic all lost their opening matches in three sets.
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Stakusic was competing in a WTA 1000 main draw outside of Canada for the first time, having come through qualifying.
The Canadian men had a bit more luck as a group, with three of the four scoring at least two match wins, although there is also only one left standing as the event enters its second week.
Félix Auger-Aliassime is through to the round of sixteen in Indian Wells for the first time since 2023. He punched his ticket on Sunday night with a thrilling three-set victory in an all-Canadian clash with Gabriel Diallo.
When the draw was unveiled last week, there was a possibility that Auger-Aliassime could have reached the fourth round by exclusively beating his countrymen. As the No. 9 seed, he had a bye and then was expected to face the winner between Gael Monfils and Laval’s Alexis Galarneau. Galarneau had successfully qualified for an ATP Tour main draw for the first time in his career but lost in two tight sets to Monfils in the first round. Auger-Aliassime then defeated Monfils in three sets to set up the clash with Diallo.
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Diallo’s run in Tennis Paradise was his best of 2026 so far. He beat Mattia Bellucci in straight sets in round one before scoring the second-biggest win of his career by ranking over world No. 17 Andrey Rublev in three sets in the second round.
Denis Shapovalov had a wild run in the desert, winning back-to-back three-setters over Stefanos Tsitsipas and 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry to get to the third round, where he was beaten by world No. 2 Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani survived a scare in their opening match in women’s doubles, needing to rally from a set down to defeat Ulrikke Eikeri and Xinyu Jiang. The second seeds were up to the task, though, sneaking out a 5-7, 6-3, 10-5 in their only match so far at the tournament.
Mboko also won her opening doubles match alongside fellow teen sensation Mirra Andreeva. They upset fourth seeds Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang 10-8 in the match tiebreak to reach the second round. By knocking out Mertens in round one, Mboko did her compatriot Dabrowski a big favour as Mertens is currently the player Dabrowski is chasing for the No. 1 ranking.
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What to Watch: Mboko, Dabrowski on Doubles Collision Course
Victoria Mboko will be in the spotlight on Tuesday with a matchup that has primetime written all over it. In the fourth round, she will face sixth seed Amanda Anisimova for a spot in the quarter-finals, with the winner facing off against either world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or four-time major winner Naomi Osaka next. It will be a first meeting between Mboko and Anisimova.
Félix Auger-Aliassime's draw is full of tricky opponents the rest of the way as well. Next up for him will be 30th seed Arthur Fils, although the Canadian did beat him comfortably last month in Montpellier. A win would set up a clash against either No. 4 Alexander Zverev or No. 21 Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-finals. Auger-Aliassime is also expected to play his round-four match on Tuesday.
The Canadian No. 1 is in the bottom half of the draw with world No. 2 Jannik Sinner, a potential semifinal opponent.
If Auger-Aliassime meets Zverev in the singles quarter-finals, it would be his second meeting of the week with the German. The pair face off on Monday in the first round of the men’s doubles. Auger-Aliassime is partnering American Sebastian Korda, while Zverev is playing alongside Brazil’s Marcelo Melo.
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All four Canadians in the Indian Wells doubles draws are in action on Monday.
Gabriel Diallo is also playing his first-round match, also against Brazilian opponents. Diallo and American partner Evan King are taking on Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos, who were the doubles pair for the Brazilian Davis Cup team during the tie with Canada last month in Vancouver.
On the women’s side, Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani are taking Ingrid Neel and Peyton Stearns in round two on Monday. A win would set up a clash with seventh seeds Cristina Busca and Nicole Melichar-Martinez.
Victoria Mboko and Mirra Andreeva are taking on Hailey Baptiste and Jelena Ostapenko in the second round for the right to face fifth seeds Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic in the quarter-finals.
Dabrowski and Mboko are in the same half and could meet in the semifinals.
Under the Radar: Arseneault Shines at Home, Boulais Stays Hot
Ariana Arseneault’s first professional singles title was one to remember, as it came on home soil. The 11-time ITF doubles titlist lifted her first singles trophy on Sunday at the W15 event in Trois-Rivières, QC, edging out American Dasha Ivanova in a three-set thriller.
The victory was revenge for the previous day’s doubles final, where Ivanova had gotten the better of Arseneault. However, Canadians did still lay claim to both titles in Trois-Rivières as Ivanova was partnering with Canada’s Alexandra Vagramov, who secured her third ITF doubles crown.
CLICK HERE for the full Trois-Rivières recap.
The first ITF men’s event of the year was also held last week in Sherbrooke, QC. Nicaise Muamba came the closest to securing a title for the hosts, reaching the doubles final with Kiwi Reece Falck. However, they were beaten in the final by Oliver Okonkwo and Gavin Young.
CLICK HERE for the full Sherbrooke recap.
One Canadian did manage to double-up on the ITF Tour last week, as Justin Boulais won both the singles and doubles titles at the M25 event in Faro, Portugal.
A week after claiming the doubles title at another ITF event in Portugal, Boulais did even better this time around, walking away with both trophies. He largely cruised through the doubles again, this time with a different Portuguese partner, Francisco Rocha, not dropping a set until the final. There, they had to rally from a set down but ultimately claimed the title 10-3 in the match tiebreak
In singles, Boulais had to battle through the early rounds but saved his best for last. Seeded fourth, he took down top seed Liam Broady in straight sets in the semifinals before finishing off the dream week with a straight-set win over Joao Domingues in the final.
The singles title is the third ITF victory of Boulais’ career and first since winning on home soil in Edmonton back in 2023. The doubles victory was his sixth.
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ITF action continues on home soil this week with a W15 event in Victoriaville, QC, and an M15 at IGA Stadium in Montreal.
After her early exit in Indian Wells, Bianca Andreescu is back in action this week at a WTA 125 event in Austin, Texas.
You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.
Feature Photo : Sarah-Jade Champagne
