Every August, the Canadian hard courts serve as the final examination before the US Open. This year, the National Bank Open — known internationally as the Rogers Cup, runs from 1 to 14 August in two cities, with the men at IGA Stadium in Montreal and the women at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto.
It is the 136th edition of the men’s tournament and the 124th of the women’s. Combined prize money sits at $9.4 million. The winner of both draws goes to New York with momentum, confidence, and a ranking boost. The losers go to the US Open having questions to answer.
What the Tournament Is
The National Bank Open is one of tennis’s most prestigious combined events: an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA 1000 running simultaneously, though in different cities. The men’s and women’s draws alternate between Montreal and Toronto each year.
For context: Masters 1000 events sit directly below the Grand Slams in the ATP calendar. Winning one is a career-defining moment. For WTA 1000 events, the impact is similar. The ranking points on offer are significant and the fields reflect that.
The structure is a standard knockout, with top seeds receiving byes into the second round.
The Men’s Draw: Montreal
The defending champion
Ben Shelton arrives in Montreal as the man to beat. He won the 2025 edition here, defeating Karen Khachanov in the final 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(3). It was his first Masters 1000 title, making him the youngest American man to win at that level since Andy Roddick at the 2004 Miami Open.
Shelton is ranked world number 8 coming into 2026. He enters at the second round and meets Jenson Brooksby in what will be one of the early tests of his week.
Who else matters
The two top-ranked players are absent. Jannik Sinner (world number 1) and Carlos Alcaraz are not in the draw, which opens the field considerably.
Alexander Zverev (world number 2) is the highest-ranked player in Montreal. He has been chasing a first Masters 1000 title in North America for some time and the absence of Sinner and Alcaraz makes this as good an opportunity as he has had.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (world number 4) is the Canadian in the field, which means home crowd advantage, and that carries genuine weight in Montreal. FAA has turned himself into a consistent top-10 player. Whether he can convert that into a home Masters title is the question his career still needs to answer.
Also in the draw: Alex de Minaur (world number 6), Daniil Medvedev (world number 7), Flavio Cobolli (world number 9) and Taylor Fritz (world number 10). The projected quarter-finals make for compelling reading across the draw.
The Women’s Draw: Toronto
The defending champion situation
Victoria Mboko won the 2025 Rogers Cup in Toronto at just 18 years old, beating Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final. The Canadian teenager’s win was one of the stories of last summer. She will not be defending: a knee injury has kept her out.
Who leads the field
Aryna Sabalenka is the top seed. The world number 1 from Belarus is the highest-profile player in the draw and is in the kind of form that makes her the default favourite at every hard-court event she enters.
Elena Rybakina is seeded second. Jessica Pegula (world number 3) arrives in Toronto with added confidence after winning the Mubadala DC Open, which concluded this past weekend. Coco Gauff is fourth seed.
Iga Swiatek, who has had a complicated relationship with hard courts over the past two seasons, is seeded seventh. How she performs in Toronto will tell you something about her US Open prospects.
Why This Tournament Matters for the US Open
The National Bank Open is the final hard-court event of any significance before the US Open begins in late August. What happens in Montreal and Toronto carries weight.
A title here means: confidence on the surface, ranking points banked, and the right side of the draw at Flushing Meadows. A first-round exit means going to the US Open with questions about form and match sharpness.
For the men, Shelton defending his title in the city where he won his first Masters 1000 would be a significant storyline. For the women, Sabalenka winning a fourth hard-court title of the year would confirm what most observers already suspect.
What to Watch This Week
Men’s second round (starts Tuesday): The top seeds enter for the first time. Zverev, FAA, Medvedev, Shelton and de Minaur all play in the next few days. These matches set the bracket up for the quarter-finals.
Shelton vs Brooksby: Shelton’s first match as defending champion is against fellow American Jenson Brooksby. It is an early test of whether he can back up what he did here last year.
FAA at home: Auger-Aliassime’s draw will be scrutinised immediately. The pressure of playing in your home country at a Masters 1000 is something he has experienced before. How he handles it this time matters.
Women’s early rounds: Sabalenka, Gauff, and Rybakina are all in action this week. Any early upsets in the top half of the draw would reshape the entire conversation around the US Open.
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