Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff titled Canadian Tennis Tennis Montreal National Bank Open for the star-studded women’s field announced Thursday.
The world’s No. 1 and No. 2 are scheduled to take center stage at the IGA Stadium, and the field will also include two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula.
As the annual display cabinet enters a new 12-day format, WTA’s top 68 competitors are expected to be part of the 96-player main draw, the largest in the event’s history.
Sabalenka is a three-time Grand Slam champion and so far has a 44-8 record in 2025, including wins in Miami and Madrid, as well as appearances in the French Open final.
Gauff has a 31-10 record this season, beating Sabalenka at Roland-Garros.
There are at least three Canadians in the main draw, and Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Quebec (No. 38) will make her sixth NBO appearance. Toronto’s Victoria Mboko was eliminated in the second round at Wimbledon on Thursday, and Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ontario were awarded universal card berths.
Pegula became the first woman to win the NBO title since Martina Hingis won last summer in Toronto. The world’s third place added a championship to the resumes of Charleston, Austin and Bud Homeburg this season, her first three games in a campaign
Iga Swiatek (No. 4), Jasmine Paolini (No. 5), Qinwen Zheng (No. 6), Mirra Andreeva (No. 7), Madison Keess (No. 8), Paula Badosa (No. 9) and Emma Navarro (No. 10) are also planning to compete in the Canadian event.
Other notable names include past Canadian champions Elina Svitolina (No. 13) and Belinda Bencic (No. 35), as well as three Wimbledon champions – Barbora Krejcikova (No. 16), Marketa Vondrousova (No. 73) and Elena Rybakina (No. 11).
The first NBO under the new format begins with qualifications on July 26. The main draw will be from July 27 to August 7. The first 32 seeds will receive the first round of BYES and will start the game on July 29 or July 30.
