Next month, the National Bank Open presented by Rogers will showcase two distinguished former Grand Slam champions as the marquee seeds.
On the women’s side in Toronto, Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus takes the top seed position, while Alexander Zverev of Germany claims the No. 1 seed in Montreal, as revealed by Tennis Canada on Monday.
Sabalenka, a four-time Grand Slam titleholder, has yet to secure a win in any of the first three majors this year. Conversely, Zverev celebrated his inaugural Grand Slam victory at this year’s French Open before facing defeat against Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final.
The women’s NBO is set to feature the top five players globally — Sabalenka, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, American Jessica Pegula, fellow American Coco Gauff, and Russia’s Mirra Andreeva.
Canada’s Leylah Fernandez stands out as the only seeded Canadian player, ranked at No. 30. Defending champion Victoria Mboko will not participate due to a knee injury.
On the men’s side, notable absences include No. 1 Jannik Sinner, No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, and No. 5 Novak Djokovic.
The men’s top seeds include Zverev (No. 2), Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 4), Alex de Minaur from Australia (No. 6), Russia’s Daniil Medvedev (No. 7), and the reigning champion Ben Shelton from the U.S. (No. 8).
Zverev previously triumphed at the National Bank Open in 2017 in Montreal.
Draws for both tournaments are set to occur on Friday, with qualifying matches taking place on Saturday, leading into the main draw starting on Sunday.
The excitement continues through August 13.
