The clay season is well and truly underway now, but the Canadians are still heating up.
Week one on the dirt was a tough one for the Canucks and the men got off to a tough start this week too in Monte-Carlo, where the draw was not kind to Gabriel Diallo and Denis Shapovalov. But Félix Auger-Aliassime and the Billie Jean King Cup team will look to turn things around.
Here’s what you need to know.
In Case You Missed It: Rough Start on the Clay
One of the biggest popcorn matches of the first round at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the first Masters 1000 event on clay this year, featured a Canadian. As soon as the draw came out, the matchup between Gabriel Diallo and Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca was clearly a must-watch.
The match ended up being fairly one-sided, as Fonseca cruised past Diallo in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. Diallo struggled to keep the ball in play, committing 27 unforced errors to just 12 winners, while dropping serve five times.
Fonseca got off to a quick start, breaking for a 2-1 lead and never looked back in the opening set. The Montrealer seemed like he was going to make a match of it when he put the youngster under pressure early in the second, breaking to go up 3-1. But from there, it was one-way traffic for the Brazilian. Fonseca won the last five games in a row to wrap up the win in just under 90 minutes.
Read also: ATP Power Rankings - Is it Sinner Time on Clay?
Denis Shapovalov did not fare much better in his first-round match in Monte-Carlo. He was eliminated in three sets by another rising star, 20-year-old Alexander Blockx of Belgium. Missed opportunities cost the Canadian in this one, as he led by a break in the first set and then had a love-40 opening to stay alive as Blockx served for the match in the final game. But Shapovalov could not take advantage of any of those chances, ultimately falling 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Canada’s men are still looking for a win on the dirt in 2026 after all three Canucks who kicked off their clay swings last week lost their opening main-draw matches.
Diallo was the top seed at the ATP 250 event in Bucharest but was upset in his opening match in straight sets by qualifier Alex Molcan. Cleeve Harper was also in action in Romania but was beaten in the first round of the doubles draw with David Stevenson 10-5 in the match tiebreak by Constantin Franzen and Robin Haase.
Liam Draxl did pick up a few wins in qualifying to get into the ATP 250 Houston main draw, but that first ATP main draw singles match win remains elusive as he lost in three sets to Nishesh Basavareddy.
Read also: WTA Power Rankings - Can Sabalenka Reign on Clay?
The Canadian women had a bit more luck at the WTA 500 in Charleston, with both Leylah Annie Fernandez and Bianca Andreescu getting a win on the green clay. Andreescu mounted a comeback in her opening match against Dalma Galfi to win in three but went down in round two in a clash of former major champions with Sofia Kenin. Fernandez had a bye and then cruised past Polina Kudermetova before falling in round three to Diana Shnaider.
In doubles, Fernandez lost a heartbreaker 11-9 in the match tiebreak to Anna Bondar and Magdalena Frech. She was playing alongside veteran Kristina Mladenovic.
Click here for more news from the ATP and WTA Tours.
What to Watch: Team Canada Heads to Kazakhstan, Auger-Aliassime Still in Monte-Carlo
Team Canada is back for the 2026 Billie Jean King Cup this week. The Qualifiers are taking place and the Canadians are making the trip to Astana, Kazakhstan, for their clash, looking to book their ticket to September’s Finals.
Photo : Sarah-Jade Champagne
Bianca Andreescu, Kayla Cross, Ariana Arseneault, and Sasha Vagramov will be representing Canada this week, with Marie-Ève Pelletier back as interim captain.
CLICK HERE to meet the members of Team Canada.
CLICK HERE for everything about Canada’s 2026 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers tie with Kazakhstan.
With his compatriots eliminated early, Félix Auger-Aliassime is the lone Canadian left in Monte-Carlo. Seeded sixth, he had a first-round bye and will meet veteran Marin Cilic in the second round. It will be the seventh meeting between the pair, first on clay, with Auger-Aliassime having won the last three meetings dating back to 2022.
If he makes it four wins in a row over the former US Open champion, Auger-Aliassime will face the winner between Corentin Moutet and two-time Roland-Garros runner-up Casper Ruud. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner will most likely be waiting in the quarter-finals.
Under the Radar: Junior Nationals Wrap Up
It was another quiet week for the Canadians on the ATP Challenger and ITF circuits, with no Canadians finalists to speak of. This week, Canadian fans should keep a close eye on the ATP Challenger event in Sarasota, where Davis Cup team members Liam Draxl and Cleeve Harper are both competing.
On home soil, the Fischer Indoor Junior Nationals wrapped up, with the U18 and U14 champions being crowned. CLICK HERE for the event recap.
It is a busy week on home soil as both the ITF Masters and Juniors tours are making stops in Canada. The Masters will be competing at an MT700 event on the west coast in Vancouver, while the Juniors are back in Ontario for the J200 in Woodbridge.
You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.
Feature Photo : Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
