2025 National Bank Open Montreal Players: Meet…

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It is not uncommon for champions at the National Bank Open to be a bit unexpected. Prior to Jessica Pegula’s run of dominance over the last couple of years, three champions in a row came from outside the Top 10.

If you are wondering who to keep an eye on this summer in Montreal, it could be good to look beyond the favourites as there are a few former champions, runners-up, and dangerous players floating in the draw.

Here are eight x-factor players to keep an eye on this year at the National Bank Open.

*Note: Ranking and statistics are as of the official player list announcement on July 3.

Amanda Anisimova

Age: 23
Current Ranking: 12
Career-High: 12
NBO Appearance: Fourth
Best NBO Result: Runner-Up (2024)
Most Recent NBO Result: Runner-Up (2024)
2025 Record: 25-12
Career NBO Record: 8-3

What a 12 months it has been for Anisimova. And it all started with her run to the Toronto final last summer.

Last August, she upset four Top 10 seeds, including Aryna Sabalenka, on her way to the title match at the National Bank Open, where she pushed Jessica Pegula to three sets. Since then, she managed to lift a WTA 1000 trophy earlier this year in Doha and has skyrocketed up the rankings.

In fact, there is a strong chance she could end up as a Top 10 seed by the time play begins in Montreal. She reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and is projected to jump up to a new career-high ranking of No. 8 on Monday.

Elena Rybakina

Age: 26
Current Ranking: 11
Career-High: 3
NBO Appearance: Fourth
Best NBO Result: Semifinal (2023)
Most Recent NBO Result: Semifinal (2023)
2025 Record: 29-12
Career NBO Record: 4-3

Rybakina is expected to return to Canada this summer after missing the 2024 event in Toronto. Her last trip to Montreal was a successful one, as she reached the semifinals.

2025 has been a bit of a down year for the former Wimbledon champion but she did put up some solid results at the early WTA 1000 events, including a semifinal in Dubai. As one of the strongest servers on the WTA Tour, Rybakina is a threat on any surface, but particularly fast hard courts like in Canada.

Liudmila Samsonova

Age: 26
Current Ranking: 19
Career-High: 12
NBO Appearance: Fourth
Best NBO Result: Runner-Up (2023)
Most Recent NBO Result: Quarter-final (2024)
2025 Record: 20-15
Career NBO Record: 8-3

One player who has shown a real penchant for playing in Canada is Samsonova. She reached her first WTA 1000 final in Montreal back in 2023 and followed it up with a quarter-final appearance last summer in Toronto, making the National Bank Open the lone “big” (WTA 1000 or Grand Slam) event where she has reached the quarter-finals at least twice.

The last time she was in Montreal, Samsonova picked up wins over Sabalenka, Belinda Bencic, and Rybakina on her way to the final. She should also be arriving in Canada in good form, having just reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon.

Belinda Bencic

Age: 28
Current Ranking: 35
Career-High: 4
NBO Appearance: Fifth
Best NBO Result: Champion (2015)
Most Recent NBO Result: Quarter-final (2023)
2025 Record: 21-10
Career NBO Record: 14-3

Bencic first broke onto the scene a decade ago with a shocking title run in Toronto at age 18, beating four Top 5 players, including world No. 1 Serena Williams, as well as top Canadian Eugenie Bouchard on her way to her first big title on tour.

10 years later, the Swiss has a bit of an odd record in Canada. When she makes the trip north, she tends to play well. But after winning in 2015, she did not come back to Canada until 2019. She then missed the 2021 edition before reaching back-to-back quarterfinals in 2022-2023. Bencic then missed last year’s event while on maternity leave.

She seems to be peaking just in time for another run in Canada though as she reached the semifinals at Wimbledon.

Elina Svitolina

Age: 30
Current Ranking: 13
Career-High: 3
NBO Appearance: Ninth
Best NBO Result: Champion (2017)
Most Recent NBO Result: Second round (2024)
2025 Record: 30-10
Career NBO Record: 13-7

Another former champion in Canada, Svitolina has been looking more like her pre-maternity leave self in 2025, having reached at least the quarter-finals at three WTA 1000 events, including the Madrid semis, and two majors. It’s her strongest showing through six months of the season since 2019.

Svitolina’s 2017 title in Toronto came in the midst of a breakout year when she won three WTA 1000 titles and posted a career-best 53 match wins. In 2025, it takes a lot to beat the Ukrainian. Seven of her 10 losses this year were either to a Top 10 opponent or a player who went on to reach the final of that tournament.

Naomi Osaka

Age: 27
Current Ranking: 53
Career-High: 1
NBO Appearance: Sixth
Best NBO Result: Quarter-Final (2019)
Most Recent NBO Result: Second Round (2024)
2025 Record: 18-9
Career NBO Record: 5-5

As wild as it might sound for a former world No. 1 and four-time major champion, Osaka will be looking for her first match win in Montreal this summer. Of course, there is a caveat. This would only be her second appearance at IGA Stadium. She lost in the first round back in 2018 and her other four trips to the Great White North were all to Toronto.

As a four-time Slam winner and two-time WTA 1000 champion on hard courts, there is no question that when Osaka is on, she is one of the best on this surface. With her low ranking, she is a player no seed will want to see as a potential early opponent.

Emma Raducanu

Age: 22
Current Ranking: 40
Career-High: 10
NBO Appearance: Second
Best NBO Result: First round (2022)
Most Recent NBO Result: First round (2022)
2025 Record: 16-13
Career NBO Record: 0-1

The former US Open champion will be making her debut in Montreal this summer. It will be just her second trip to Canada and the young Brit is looking for her first match win in the Great White North, having lost in the first round in her lone appearance in Toronto back in 2022.

Even though she has not backed up her shocking Grand Slam victory nearly four years ago, Raducanu has been showing signs of progress in 2025. She’s picked up at least one match win in each major this year and reached her first big quarter-final since the 2021 US Open at the most-recent hard-court WTA 1000 event on the calendar in Miami.

Alexandra Eala

Age: 20
Current Ranking: 56
Career-High: 56
NBO Appearance: First
2025 Record: 26-16

Eala has been the unexpected breakthrough player of 2025. She came out of nowhere in Miami, reaching the semifinals as a wildcard. She beat a pair of Top 5 players, recent Australian Open champion Madison Keys and then-world No. 2 Iga Swiatek, on her way to the final four where she pushed fourth seed Jessica Pegula to three sets.

The 20-year-old also just reached her first tour-level final last month in Eastbourne, losing an epic to fellow youngster Maya Joint in what was the youngest WTA Tour final since 1981. This could be the first chance Canadian fans get to see a future star.

*Please note, the rankings could change by the start of play on July 26 and appearance on the entry list is not a guarantee that a player will participate in the National Bank Open.

The WTA's best return to Montreal this summer for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers July 26 to Aug. 7, 2025 at IGA Stadium. 2025 Tickets are on sale. Get your tickets today!

Feature Photo: Tyler Anderson