Get ready for an exhilarating day as the National Bank Open presented by Rogers heads into the round of 32 this Thursday, unfolding in the vibrant cities of Toronto and Montreal.
The men’s tournament faced a major shake-up on Wednesday with the withdrawal of Felix Auger-Aliassime due to injury, alongside opening-match losses for top seed Alexander Zverev and No. 4 Daniil Medvedev. With the world’s top five players either absent or sidelined, the Montreal event is shaping up to be full of surprises.
In contrast, the women’s tournament in Toronto is thriving, with nine out of the top ten seeds still vying for the championship.
Let’s dive into some of the most exciting storylines for Thursday:
Could another star be emerging from the nation that gifted us Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz? Meet Rafael Jodar.
This 19-year-old talent grew up idolizing Nadal and is now stepping into the spotlight himself.
Jodar recently made a name for himself by reaching the quarterfinals at the French Open and climbing to No. 15 in the rankings after a tough loss to Taylor Fritz in the DC Open final on Monday.
Watch for Jodar in the spotlight as he takes on No. 11 seed Lorenzo Musetti from Italy in a highly anticipated match-up.
This encounter is a rematch of last week’s Washington quarterfinal, which Jodar won in a thrilling three-set battle.
Sabalenka Sets Sights on Hard Courts
After a mixed performance on grass and clay, Aryna Sabalenka returns to her favorite hard-court surface this week.
The world No. 1 showcased her skills by defeating Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima swiftly in her Toronto opener, with a score of 6-3, 6-3.
On Thursday night, Sabalenka will face the seasoned competitor Zhuai Shang from China.
All four of Sabalenka’s Grand Slam titles have come on hard courts, including victories at the US Open (2024, 2025) and the Australian Open (2023, 2024).
In a rare twist, an opening-round doubles match will take center stage on Thursday night.
The excitement stems from rising Filipino star Alexandra Eala, who sold out Centre Court with her singles victory on Wednesday, teaming up with the legendary Venus Williams. The pair had previously competed in Germany earlier this year before facing elimination after one match.
Broadcast Schedule (All Times ET)
Women’s: 12:30 p.m. (Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet+); 7 p.m. (Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+)
Men’s: 11 a.m. (Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+); 7 p.m. (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+)
Match Schedule (All Times ET)
Centre Court (Starts at 12:30 p.m.)
Viktorija Golubic (SUI) vs. [7] Iga Swiatek (POL)
[3] Jessica Pegula (USA) vs. Kamilla Rakhimova (UZB)
Not Before 7 p.m.: [1] Aryna Sabalenka vs. Shuai Zhang (CHN)
M. Kato (JPN) / L. Samsonova vs. [WC] A. Eala (PHI) / V. Williams (USA)
Grandstand (Starts at 11 a.m.)
Talia Gibson (AUS) vs. [16] Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS)
[17] Anna Kalinskaya (RUS) vs. [15] Diana Shnaider (RUS)
[10] Marta Kostyuk (UKR) vs. [19] Madison Keys (USA)
Not Before 5 p.m.: Nikola Bartunkova (CZE) vs. [8] Amanda Anisimova (USA)
Following 7 p.m. Centre Court Match: [9] Elina Svitolina (UKR) vs. [24] Anastasia Potapova (AUT)
Court 1 (Starts at 12:30 p.m.)
[7] E. Perez (AUS) / D. Schuurs (NED) vs. L. Kichenok (UKR) / M. Lumsden (GBR)
After Suitable Rest: E. Alexandrova / G. Dabrowski (CAN) vs. C. Gauff (USA) / C. McNally (USA)
After Suitable Rest: [WC] B. Fernandez (CAN) / L. Fernandez (CAN) vs. [6] E. Mertens (BEL) / D. Shnaider
X. Jiang (CHN) / F. Wu (TPE) vs. M. Bouzkova (CZE) / L. Noskova (CZE)
Court 4 (Starts at 12:30 p.m.)
S. Hunter (AUS) / D. Krawczyk (USA) vs. K. Piter (POL) / J. Tjen (INA)
A. Li (USA) / C. Tauson (DEN) vs. M. Kempen (BEL) / A. Panova
[5] S. Hsieh (TPE) / J. Ostapenko (LAT) vs. M. Sakkari (GRE) / D. Vekic (CRO)
H. Chan (TPE) / M. Joint (AUS) vs. [8] S. Aoyama (JPN) / E. Liang (TPE)
Centre Court (Starts at 12:30 p.m.)
Mariano Navone (ARG) vs. [18] Arthur Fils (FRA)
Cameron Norrie (GBR) vs. [3] Alex de Minaur (AUS)
Not Before 7 p.m.: [20] Rafael Jodar (ESP) vs. [11] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA)
[15] Frances Tiafoe (USA) vs. [23] Arthur Rinderknech (FRA)
Rogers Court (Starts at 12:30 p.m.)
[19] Luciano Darderi (ITA) vs. Juncheng Shang (CHN)
Yannick Hanfmann (GER) vs. Nuno Borges (POR)
Not Before 6 p.m.: [8] Jiri Lehecka (CZE) vs. [27] Alexander Blockx (BEL)
[28] Brandon Nakashima (USA) vs. [Q] Titouan Droguet (FRA) or Jaime Faria (POR)
Court 5 (Starts at 12:30 p.m.)
L. Miedler (AUT) / M. Polmans (AUS) vs. A. Goransson (SWE) / C. Ruud (NOR)
F. Cerundolo (ARG) / T-M. Etcheverry (ARG) vs. [6] J. Cash (GBR) / L. Glasspool (GBR)
Not Before 4 p.m.: A. Michelsen (USA) / L. Tien (USA) vs. [3] M. Arevalo (ESA) / M. Pavic (CRO)
A. Krajicek (USA) / N. Mektic (CRO) vs. [7] G. Andreozzi (ARG) / M. Guinard (FRA)
Court 9 (Starts at 12:30 p.m.)
[1] H. Heliovaara (FIN) / H. Patten (GBR) vs. I. Buse (PER) / F. Cobolli (ITA)
M. Melo (BRA) / A. Zverev (GER) vs. [WC] D. Chan (CAN) / A. Galarneau (CAN)
[WC] L. Draxl (CAN) / C. Harper (CAN) vs. F. Marozsan (HUN) / D. Medvedev
F. Cabral (POR) / JJ Tracy (USA) vs. R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR)
