Canada’s professional events head outdoors for 2026, and that means points are now worth double on the Road to the NBO.
Duncan Chan is currently the men’s frontrunner with 47 points, 31 more than second-placed Dan Martin. However, a maximum of 50 points will be up for grabs starting on Tuesday at the ITF M25 Laval.
Chan is on the opposite half of most of his Road to the NBO wildcard contenders. The Markhamite enters as the No. 8 seed, opening the tournament against a qualifier.
Fellow Canadian Justin Boulais is the highest-seeded Canuck in the bottom half and was a finalist at the event just last year. Boulais and Chan can meet in the semifinals with wins through their first three matches, but the latter will potentially have to take down No. 2 seed Yuta Shimizu of Japan first in the quarters.
The top half of the draw features some familiar names to the National Bank Open presented by Rogers. Top-seed Liam Draxl is the reigning Road to the NBO wildcard winner as he looks to go back-to-back this year, but the Newmarket-native will need to make a late push to close his 35-point gap.
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Draxl meets a qualifier in his opening match then may play countryman Nicolas Arseneault in round two. Arseneault was victorious in his National Bank Open main-draw debut last year and was part of Canada’s Davis Cup Qualifiers team in February.
No. 5 seed Martin, who qualified for the National Bank Open main draw last season, will feature in an all-Canadian clash against Keegan Rice in round one. The only way that the Lavallois can go atop of the Road to the NBO standings at this event is if he reaches the final and Chan is ousted in his opening match.
The doubles draw is led by the all-Canadian duo of Benjamin Thomas George and Jared Horwood with the top seeds meeting compatriots Miko Lapalme and Eloi Roux in the first round. Canadian Volodymyr Gurenko and Anders Motta of Chile enter as the No. 2 seeds.
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: Sarah-Jade Champagne
