National Bank Open (WTA)

Rogers Cup presented by National Bank is a prestigious professional tennis tournament owned and operated by Tennis Canada. Since 1881 for the men and 1892 for the women, the best players in the world have showcased their skills on Canadian courts. Only Wimbledon and the US Open have longer histories than this major Canadian stop, which is acknowledged by the tennis world to be one of the best-run tournaments on professional circuit.

Montreal and Toronto share the task of hosting the best men’s and women’s players in the world, with both tournaments played at the same time during the same week. From August 4-12, 2018, the men will be in Toronto while the women will play in Montreal. Classified as a Masters 1000 event on the ATP World Tour calendar, Rogers Cup offers over US $4 million in prize money and attracts the biggest stars in tennis year after year.

Alexander Zverev is the defending champion, as the 20-year-old ousted Roger Federer in the final last year in a battle between generational talents to win his first Rogers Cup and second Masters 1000 title in a breakout season. Two years ago, the last time the men were in Toronto, Novak Djokovic clinched his fourth Rogers Cup crown with a victory over Kei Nishikori in the championship match.

The impressive list of past champions for this Canadian stop on the professional tennis circuit includes Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, and Bjorn Borg. The last Canadian man to win the singles title is Robert Bedard back in 1959. Recently, Milos Raonic has made the final (2013) while Vasek Pospisil (2013) and Denis Shapovalov (2017) have reached the semifinals of their country’s biggest tennis tournament.