Three Canadians have been granted the final wild-card entries into this year’s National Bank Open women’s tennis tournament, including Bianca Andreescu, who won the championship in 2019.
Leylah Fernandez and Rebecca Marino were also given wild-card spots at the event, which will take place from August 4th to 13th in Montreal. Former world No. 1s Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki had previously received the other two wild-card berths.
Andreescu, originally from Mississauga, Ontario, emerged victorious at the 2019 event in Toronto after opponent Serena Williams retired in the final due to an injury. The two players would meet again later that summer in the U.S. Open final, with Andreescu winning 6-3, 7-5 to become the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title.
None of the three Canadians have a high enough world ranking to automatically qualify for this year’s WTA 1000 event. Andreescu is currently the highest-ranked Canadian at No. 50, followed by Rebecca Marino at No. 83 and Leylah Fernandez at No. 95.
Tennis Canada announced that 41 of the top 44 players on the WTA Tour have confirmed their participation in the National Bank Open, including world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek from Poland, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus, and No. 3 Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan.
