2026 National Bank Open Montreal Players: Meet the Canadian Men

With just one Canuck seeded this year in Montreal, it may not look like the hosts' best opportunity to break the drought, but don't let that deceive you. The Canadian contingent is led by the highest-ranked Canadian at this tournament in the Open Era and is full of players who tend to play their best with their nation behind them.

Let's meet the Canadian men looking to end the Great White North's wait this year in Montreal.

(Note: Rankings and statistics are as of July 27 and may not correspond directly to the player list announced on July 9.)

Félix Auger-Aliassime

Fresh off back-to-back Grand Slam quarter-finals at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, local favourite Félix Auger-Aliassime leads the Canadian contingent at his home event in Montreal. He projects to be a Top 3 seed at home for the first time in his career. His best result at the National Bank Open came in Montreal back in 2022.

For more on Auger-Aliassime check out our Meet the Top 10 article.

Denis Shapovalov

• Age: 27
• Current Ranking: 68 
• Career-High: 10
• NBO Appearance: Ninth
• Best NBO Result: Semifinal (2017)
• Most Recent NBO Result: Second Round (2025)
• 2026 Record: 9-14 (ATP Tour)
• Career NBO Record: 8-8

2026 marks a decade since Denis Shapovalov made his debut on home soil at the 2016 National Bank Open in Toronto. He caused a stir that year, scoring his first tour-level match win in an upset over 11th seed Nick Kyrgios before going down in two tight sets against Grigor Dimitrov in round two.

Of course, that mini-run paled in comparison to what he accomplished the following year, taking out Rafael Nadal in the third round in Montreal on his way to the semifinals. No Canadian man has gone that far at the National Bank Open since.

Shapovalov will be looking to get back on his feet after suffering a broken rib during the grass season, which he played through at Wimbledon only to injure his shoulder. After almost a month off, he is back in action this week to defend his title in Los Cabos before heading up to Montreal.

Gabriel Diallo

• Age: 24
• Current Ranking: 99  
• Career-High: 33
• NBO Main Draw Appearance: Fourth
• Best NBO Result: Third Round (2025)
• Most Recent NBO Result: Third Round (2025)
• 2026 Record: 9-17 (ATP Tour)
• Career NBO Record: 2-3

This year has not been the next step forward that many may have been expecting from Gabriel Diallo after his strong 2025 campaign that saw him win his first ATP Tour title and reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final. Injuries have been a big reason for that, as the last few events on clay all ended for the Montrealer with retirements or withdrawals.

That being said, there have been moments where Diallo has started to look like his 2025 self. In Indian Wells, he upset Andrey Rublev before being edged out in a tight three-setter by his compatriot Auger-Aliassime. He then looked far more comfortable in June on the grass, reaching the quarter-finals of Eastbourne and then just barely getting edged out in a thrilling second-round match at Wimbledon after having come back from two sets down in round one.

Maybe a return home, very literally as Diallo grew up minutes away from IGA Stadium, is the spark he needs to get going again.

Liam Draxl

• Age: 24
• Current Ranking: 211 
• Career-High: 113
• NBO Main Draw Appearance: Second  
• Best NBO Result: First Round (2025)
• Most Recent NBO Result: First Round 2025
• 2026 Record: 29-19 (All levels)  
• Career NBO Record: 0-1

Liam Draxl may not have been victorious in his National Bank Open debut last year in Toronto, but he certainly made an impression, firing up the crowd and keeping them on the edge of their seats in his hard-fought loss to 2022 champion Pablo Carreno Busta. For the second year in a row, Draxl earned his place in the NBO main draw by winning the Road to the NBO competition.

The Newmarket, ON-native has been making progress in 2026. He came through qualifying to get into an ATP Tour main draw three times this year, including to make his Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open. Since he has been spending more time playing in main-tour qualifying this season, Draxl's ATP Challenger results have not been as strong as last year, where he led the tour in singles finals.

A home crowd is exactly where Draxl thrives, as the former NCAA star loves to get the audience going. Nowhere was that more on display than in Canada's Davis Cup Qualifiers First Round tie in Vancouver in February, where he played the hero by winning both of his singles matches, including the fifth and deciding match, to lift Canada past Brazil.

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 : Martin Sidorjak