Alexis Galarneau, Liam Draxl and Jack Draper…

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Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Canadians Duncan Chan, Keegan Rice and Justin Boulais receive wild cards into the qualifying draw.

Tennis Canada has announced that former World No. 4 Jack Draper (Great Britain), Alexis Galarneau (Laval, QC) and Liam Draxl (Newmarket, ON), winner of the 2026 Road to the NBO, were awarded the final wild cards into the main draw of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Montreal.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Canadians Duncan Chan (Markham, ON), Keegan Rice (Regina, SK) and Justin Boulais (Oakville, ON) received wild cards into the qualifying draw, which will take place on Saturday, August 1, at IGA Stadium. The player field for the 2026 National Bank Open now includes eight Canadians led by the tournament’s no.2 seed Félix Auger-Aliassime, Ontario’s Denis Shapovalov (No. 67) and Québec’s Gabriel Diallo (No. 92), who was granted a main draw wild card on July 9.

READ: Zverev and Auger-Aliassime Lead the Way in Montreal for NBO 2026

The Federation also announced that three Canadian pairs have been awarded wild cards into the doubles draw: Auger-Aliassime and Diallo, Shapovalov and Galarneau, as well as Draxl and Cleeve Harper (Calgary, AB) who is currently the best ranked Canadian in doubles (No. 110).

Note: the wild cards awarded to Jack Draper and Kei Nishikori are the result of reciprocal agreements with other organizations that will allow Canadian players to compete in other ATP tournaments around the world in 2027.

QUOTES

“We’re thrilled to announce the final wild card recipients for this year’s National Bank Open,” said Valérie Tétreault, Tournament Director of the National Bank Open in Montréal. “With these latest additions, our main draw now features five Canadians and two standout players in Gaël Monfils and Jack Draper, both of whom have the potential to make a deep run. With former finalist Kei Nishikori and three more Canadians in the qualifying draw, fans can look forward to memorable moments from day one.”

"Seeing eight Canadians compete at the National Bank Open, including five in the main draw, is always positive for our high-performance program," said Guillaume Marx, Vice President, High Performance, Tennis Canada. “Competing at home in an ATP Masters 1000 event gives our athletes a unique opportunity to gain experience at the highest level while measuring themselves against the world’s best players in front of Canadian fans. That’s especially true for Keegan [Rice] and Duncan [Chan], who will be making their tournament debuts, and even for Justin [Boulais] who is coming back for a third time. We’re excited to see them in action at IGA Stadium.”

"I'm really excited to be playing in Montreal," said Jack Draper. "It's a tournament I've enjoyed, and I have great memories of reaching the quarterfinals here a few years ago. I'm looking forward to getting back on court and competing in front of the Canadian fans again."

MEDIA NOTES

Jack Draper (24 years old, No.147)

Draper, who rose as high as World No.4 in 2025, has won three ATP titles including the 2025 Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells.

After missing several tournaments this season because of an arm injury, he returned to competition at Eastbourne in June.

Draper will be making his third National Bank Open appearance and second at IGA Stadium. He reached the quarterfinals in Montréal in 2022, where he lost to eventual champion Pablo Carreño Busta.

Alexis Galarneau (27 years old, No.162)

Making his fourth appearance in Montréal, Galarneau will be competing at the National Bank Open for the seventh time.

Last year in Toronto, he reached the second round of the Canadian event for the first time in his career with a win over Arthur Rinderknech (7-6(2), 6-3).

In recent weeks, he reached the semifinals of the ATP Challenger event in Newport and the quarterfinals of the Granby National Bank Championships, a tournament he won in 2023.

Liam Draxl (24 years old, No.244)

Draxl earned his wild card by finishing first in the Road to the NBO standings, marking his second consecutive year at the top of the rankings.

The Road to the NBO awards a main draw wild card to the top Canadian man and woman based on the points they earn at the professional tournaments held in Canada.

The Newmarket native secured the title with a straight-sets victory over France’s Clément Chidekh (7-6(8), 6-4) in the quarterfinals in Winnipeg on Friday night.

Draxl will be making his fifth National Bank Open appearance and his third in Montréal.

In January, he advanced through qualifying at the Australian Open to gain his first career Grand Slam main draw appearance.

Wild cards into the qualifying draw

Kei Nishikori (36) will make one last appearance in Canada before retiring at the end of the season. A former World No.4 and 12-time ATP champion, he reached the quarterfinals in his most recent appearance in 2024. His best result at the National Bank Open came in 2016, when he was the runner-up to Novak Djokovic (6-3, 7-5).

Duncan Chan (20), who finished second in the Road to the NBO standings, will be making his tournament debut. Currently ranked No.663, he has won two WTT (formerly ITF) junior titles.

Keegan Rice (20), a graduate of the National Tennis Centre presented by Rogers in Montréal, will also be making his tournament debut. Currently ranked No.900, he reached the singles and doubles finals of the M25 tournament in Laval this season.

Justin Boulais (24) is currently ranked No. 285 in the world. A member of the transition group of the National Tennis Centre presented by Rogers, he will be competing at the National Bank Open for the third time. In 2026, he captured the WTT M25 title in Faro.

Feature photo by: Tennis Canada