2026 National Bank Open Montreal Players: Meet…

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Over the last few years, the National Bank Open has seen a few players come out of nowhere to win the title. Especially in Montreal.

The last seeded man to lift the trophy at IGA Stadium does not even play on tour anymore (Rafael Nadal was the top seed in 2019 and retired in 2024). On the last two occasions when the ATP visited Montreal, the last men standing were players no one expected.

All that is to say it is very important to know more names than just the Top 10 when it comes to the National Bank Open in Montreal. With that in mind, here are just a few dark horses and X-factors to keep an eye on next month at IGA Stadium.

(Note: Rankings and statistics are as of July 20 and may not correspond directly to the player list announced on July 9.)

Gael Monfils

Age: 39
Current Ranking: 327
Career-High: 6
NBO Appearance: 15th
Best NBO Result: Semifinal (Twice)
Most Recent NBO Result: First Round (2025)
2026 Record: 3-7
Career NBO Record: 24-13

The Flying Frenchman's farewell tour will make its last stop in Canada this August. Monfils was the first wildcard announced for the 2026 National Bank Open in Montreal.

While none of his three Masters 1000 finals came in Canada, the National Bank Open has been statistically Monfils' best Masters 1000 event. It is the only Masters tournament where he reached the quarter-finals more than three times (five, including two semis), he has his best winning percentage at a Masters 1000 event in Canada (65%), and his 24 match wins are his highest tally at this level.

Two of his three match wins in his final year on tour so far came at the 1000 level, including in Indian Wells where he beat Canada's Alexis Galarneau before falling in three sets to another Canadian, Félix Auger-Aliassime.

Pablo Carreno Busta

Age: 35
Current Ranking: 65
Career-High: 10
NBO Appearance: Sixth
Best NBO Result: Champion (2022)
Most Recent NBO Result: Second Round (2025)
2026 Record: 8-10
Career NBO Record: 10-4

As wild as it may seem, Pablo Carreno Busta's 2022 victory in Montreal probably is not even the most surprising victory by a man at IGA Stadium in the 2020s (looking at you, Alexei Popyrin), but that doesn't change the fact that it was a stunner of a run from the veteran Spaniard. He took out five players who at some point in their career were/would be ranked in the Top 10, including Jannik Sinner, on his way to the biggest title of his career.

In 2026, he projects to be one of five former champions in the main draw (possibly six if Popyrin qualifies). That win in Montreal was an outlier for PCB, as all of his other trips to Canada ended in the second round. While the veteran Spaniard has spent much of 2026 on the ATP Challenger Tour, he still shows flashes of the player who lifted the NBO trophy. Just last month, he reached the fourth round of Roland-Garros.

Rafael Jodar

Age: 19
Current Ranking: 25
Career-High: 23
NBO Appearance: First
2026 Record: 26-11

A Spaniard at the opposite end of his career, teen sensation Rafael Jodar will likely be one of the hottest tickets for Montreal fans as 2026's biggest breakout star on the ATP Tour will be making his first trip to the National Bank Open.

Jodar was not just one of the best youngsters on tour during the clay swing, he was one of the best players on the dirt period, reaching the quarter-finals of Madrid, Rome, and Roland-Garros, while also picking up his maiden title in Casablanca. He proved himself not to be just a clay-court specialist by reaching the third round of Wimbledon and now will look to establish himself on the hard courts in Montreal.

Arthur Fils

Age: 22
Current Ranking: 23
Career-High: 14
NBO Appearance: Third
Best NBO Result: Third Round (2025)
Most Recent NBO Result: Third Round (2025)
2026 Record: 23-8
Career NBO Record: 1-2

In the early parts of 2026, Arthur Fils looked primed to enter the conversation as a contender at the big events, reaching the quarter-finals of Indian Wells and semis in Miami and Madrid. He also reached the final in Doha and reigned victorious in Barcelona.

But injuries have hampered the French No. 1. He did not play a Grand Slam match this year until Wimbledon, having missed the first two majors of the season. In fact, his last match of 2025 was his third-round loss in Toronto and he did not play again until Montpellier this February. If Fils is healthy in Montreal, he is a low seed that no one will want to see in their draw.

Joao Fonseca

Age: 19
Current Ranking: 28
Career-High: 24
NBO Appearance: Second
Best NBO Result: First Round (2025)
Most Recent NBO Result: First Round (2025)
2026 Record: 16-12
Career NBO Record: 0-1

Last year, Fonseca was the hot young sensation everyone in Toronto wanted to see. There will likely still be a bit of that in Montreal this year as the Brazilian teen will be making his first trip to Jarry Park, although he will have to share some of that spotlight with Jodar.

Fonseca may not have taken over the game (yet), but he has steadily improved over the last year. He reached his first Masters 1000 quarter-final in Monte-Carlo this spring and reached the last eight at a major for the first time at Roland-Garros, highlighted by his dramatic two-set comeback in the third round against 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic.

Karen Khachanov

Age: 30
Current Ranking: 26
Career-High: 8
NBO Appearance: Eighth
Best NBO Result: Runner-Up (2025)
Most Recent NBO Result: Runner-Up (2025)
2026 Record: 16-15
Career NBO Record: 16-7

The veteran will be hoping that a return to Canada can help revitalize what has been a down year. Khachanov did deliver a strong result at the last Masters 1000 even in Rome, reaching the quarter-finals, but prior to that, he had not made it past the third round of any Masters 1000 event or major in 2026.

Khachanov has a good record in Canada. It is the only Masters 1000 event where he has reached the semifinals three times and his 70 per cent winning percentage is his best at any Masters 1000. Last year, he beat Casper Ruud and top seed Alexander Zverev on his way to the final in Toronto, where he only came up a couple of points short in a third-set tiebreak against Ben Shelton.

Quick Hits:

Alexander Blockx: The doppelganger of retired Canadian legend Milos Raonic had his breakout run in Madrid and has won in Canada before, scoring the 2022 Internationaux Junior Banque Nationale de Repentigny title, the biggest junior event in Canada.

Zizou Bergs: The former Drummondville Challenger champion has been on the rise over the last 18 months, reaching three finals on the ATP Tour and winning his maiden title last month in Eastbourne.

Learner Tien: The reigning ATP NextGen Finals champion had his Masters 1000 breakout last year in Toronto, reaching the fourth round. He has been even better in 2026, reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and Madrid and is now firmly entrenched in the Top 20.

Jakub Mensik: The 20-year-old Czech is one of the most talented rising stars on tour. He has a Masters 1000 win to his name in Miami last year and just reached the Roland-Garros semifinals in June.

*Please note that appearance on the entry list is not a guarantee that a player will participate in the National Bank Open.

The ATP's best return to Montreal next summer for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers Aug 1 to 13 at IGA Stadium. Get your tickets today!

Feature Photo : Peter Power