Canada's premier tennis tournament may be less than a week away now, but before the first balls are struck in Toronto and Montreal, a pair of Canadians have some business to attend to.
Two of the events on the calendar this week have Canadian defending champions, a prime opportunity for them to build some confidence before stepping into the spotlight at home at the National Bank Open.
Here's what you need to know.
What to Watch: Back-to-Back in Washington and Los Cabos?
Both Leylah Annie Fernandez and Denis Shapovalov are looking to defend titles this week in Washington, DC, and Los Cabos, respectively.
A year ago, Fernandez went on a tear in the US capital to win the biggest title of her career. This time around, she is the seventh seed and kicked off her title defence with a win over Magda Linette on Monday. In round two, she will play either Alexandra Eala or Qinwen Zheng, with second seed Elina Svitolina her potential quarter-final opponent.
Shapovalov was borderline untouchable last year in Los Cabos when he cruised to the title. He will be hoping to recapture that form quickly in 2026. Seeded eighth, he opens against Rinky Hijikata and would meet either Sho Shimabukuro or local wildcard Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez in the second round.
Like Fernandez, Shapovalov is in the bottom quarter with the draw's second seed, in his case, Luciano Darderi.
Read also: 2026 National Bank Open Toronto Players - Meet the Canadian Women
Gabriel Diallo joins his countryman in Mexico. The Montrealer will face qualifier Tristan Boyer in the first round, with No. 3 seed Francisco Cerundolo waiting in round two. If he causes the upset, Diallo is projected to meet No. 7 Martin Landaluce in the quarters.
Cadence Brace and Katherine Sebov are both getting a taste of WTA main-draw action this week before competing in Toronto, where they both received main-draw wildcards. The pair are competing at the WTA 250 event in Memphis and could meet in round two.
The road to that clash of Canadians is tougher for Brace, who was drawn against No. 4 seed Zeynep Sonmez in the first round. Brace clashed with the Turk in her only previous WTA Tour main-draw match earlier this season in Merida, Mexico, which Sonmez won in straight sets.
Sebov will take on Elvina Kalieva. If one of the Canadians makes it through that section, their projected quarter-final opponent would be No. 7 seed Peyton Stearns.
No Canadians participated in ATP or WTA main-tour events last week.
Under the Radar: Chavez Gets First Win, Draxl Heading to Montreal
The World Tennis event in Saskatoon continues to be the site of breakthroughs for young Canadian women. 20-year-old Teah Chavez won her first professional title at the W35 event last week, reigning supreme in singles. She won an all-Canadian final over Ariana Arseneault to join Victoria Mboko and Kayla Cross as players in the 2020s to win their first professional title at the Saskatchewan World Tennis event.
Photo : Landon Grubb
Chavez nearly doubled up in Saskatoon, reaching the doubles final with compatriot Scarlett Nicholson, but the Canucks were narrowly edged out in the match tiebreak 10-8 by Alyssa Ahn and Kayla Moe.
CLICK HERE for the full Saskatoon recap.
Chavez was the only Canadian winner last week, but there was no shortage of Canucks who reached finals, including on home soil.
Photo : Stephen McGregor
While Liam Draxl came up just short in the Winnipeg Challenger final, falling to Brit Toby Samuel in the title match, the Newmarket, ON.-native did not leave Manitoba empty-handed. Just by reaching the semifinals, Draxl snuck past Duncan Chan in the Road to the NBO, earning himself a main-draw wildcard for the National Bank Open in Montreal.
CLICK HERE to read the full Winnipeg recap.
Abroad, the Canadian men were denied in both finals in Huamantla, Mexico, with Alvin Nicholas Tudorica falling in the singles final while Volodymyr Gurenko and his Colombian partner Andres Urrea were beaten in the doubles final.
Kayla Cross also delivered a strong performance ahead of the National Bank Open, where she received a wildcard into both singles and doubles, reaching the W100 doubles final in Evansville, Indiana.
You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.
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 : Martin Sidorjak
