With Roland-Garros main draw play just days away, the Canadians are busy gearing up for the season’s second Grand Slam event. Whether it’s competing in a warm-up tournament, including one where Canada’s top two women are on a collision course, or competing in qualifying in Paris, the Canucks are doing their best to get their reps in on the clay before the big one.
Here’s what you need to know.
In Case You Missed It: Short Roman Holiday
The 2026 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome was one to forget from a Canadian perspective. The Canucks combined to go 1-5 across all draws, with only Bianca Andreescu securing a match win in the first week.
Gabriela Dabrowski was the only Canadian playing in the second week, since her first-round match was not until Monday, but she and Luisa Stefani were upset by Marie Bouzkova and Alexandra Panova in their opener. It was Dabrowski’s first match of the clay-court swing.
Félix Auger-Aliassime, Leylah Annie Fernandez, and Denis Shapovalov all lost their opening matches in the first days of the tournament, while Victoria Mboko withdrew at the last minute with an illness.
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What to Watch: Final Prep Before Paris
We are in the last stretch heading into the second Grand Slam event of the season, with main-draw play scheduled to begin on Sunday at Roland-Garros. In the meantime, a few Canucks are getting a few final matches in ahead of the clay major.
There will be an all-Canadian quarter-final at the WTA 500 event in Strasbourg, as Victoria Mboko and Leylah Annie Fernandez are scheduled to face off in the last eight.
Mboko is the top seed and beat last year’s Roland-Garros semifinalist Lois Boisson in her second-round match after a bye. Fernandez got to the quarter-finals with wins over Leolia Jeanjean and Magdalena Frech. The winner will face one of No. 4 seed Clara Tauson, Jacquelina Cristian, or Daria Kasatkina in the semis.
This will be the second WTA Tour meeting between Mboko and Fernandez. The Burlingtonian won their semifinal in Hong Kong last October in three sets.
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Gabriela Dabrowski is the top seed in doubles this week in Strasbourg alongside Luisa Stefani. They defeated Antonia Ruzic and Oksana Selekhmeteva in the first round and will face Lyudmyla Kichenok and Desirae Krawczyk in the quarter-finals. They are in the same half as No. 4 seed Asia Muhammad and Fanny Stollar.
Félix Auger-Aliassime is the top seed at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg this week. He dispatched Vit Kopriva in straight sets on Tuesday morning in the first round and will meet lucky loser Aleksandar Kovacevic in the second round.
He is projected to meet No. 8 seed Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-finals, with No. 5 Karen Khachanov being the highest-seeded possible semifinal opponent. Ben Shelton and Alex de Minaur are potential final opponents.
Under the Radar: Andreescu leads Canadians in Roland-Garros qualifying
Seven Canadians made the trip to Paris early this week to compete in qualifying for Roland-Garros, although that contingent has already been reduced to six.
Bianca Andreescu is among the Canucks looking to punch their ticket to the main draw. She beat Daphnée Mpetshi Perricard in straight sets to kick off her campaign on Tuesday. The former US Open champion could have had an all-Canadian second-round matchup, but Katherine Sebov was beaten by Victoria Hruncakova, who will take on Andreescu next.
If she beats the Slovakian, Andreescu would play either 12th seed Dominika Salkova or Susan Bandecchi in the final round.
Cadence Brace and Kayla Cross are also on a collision course in qualifying, but could have a hard time making that potential third-round match happen as both Canadians face seeds in their opening matches. Cross is taking on No. 13 Rebecca Sramkova while Brace has to face off with No. 24 Maria Timofeeva.
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Carol Zhao rounds out the group on the women’s side, using her protected ranking to enter the qualifying draw. She faces Katarina Zavatska in the first round, with No. 7 seed Darja Semenistaja potentially waiting in the second round.
Liam Draxl and Alexis Galarneau both gritted out three-set wins in their opening matches in Paris. Draxl held off Ilia Simakin while Galarneau won a thriller 10-7 in the third-set tiebreak over Alex Barrena.
Top qualifying seed Jesper de Jong awaits Draxl in the second round.
Galarneau has an easier path, with no seeds left in his section of the draw. He will face Pedro Boscardin Dias in the second round, with either Federico Cina or Bernard Tomic as potential final-round opponents.
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On the ITF circuit last week, Jared Horwood won the first professional title of his career, lifting the doubles trophy at an M15 event in Maringa, Brazil. The former All-American in the NCAA did not drop a set on his way to the title alongside Herman Hoeyeraal of Norway.
Photo : @jaredhorwood
The pair dominated the draw, never losing more than eight games in a match. Their run included a quarter-final upset of the top seeds Breno Braga and Manuel Mouilleron Salvo and they capped it all off with a 6-3, 7-5 win in the final over the local pair of Enzo Lima and Gabriel Schenekenberg.
You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.
Feature Photo : Martin Sidorjak
