The expanded format for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers returns for a second year in a row with the start of main-draw play on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The 96-player tournaments, up from 56, now run over 12 days instead of seven. This year, the men are in Montreal while the women play in Toronto.<\/p>\n
The 32 seeded players in each event get first-round byes, meaning they don\u2019t hit the court until Tuesday or Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Still, plenty of familiar names are in action over the first two days, including a big Canadian contingent trying to take advantage of an annual opportunity to play in top-level events on home courts.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at what\u2019s in store on opening day:<\/p>\n
Top storylines<\/p>\n
Venus opens play on Centre Court<\/p>\n
While Serena Williams won\u2019t include Toronto as part of her comeback, her sister Venus is in the city.<\/p>\n
The 46-year-old plays the opening match on Centre Court against Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan.<\/p>\n
Williams has played a limited schedule this season, going 2-6.<\/p>\n
The seven-time Grand Slam champion had her best finish in Canada in 2014 when she was runner-up to Agnieszka Radwa\u0144ska in Montreal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember playing here the first time when I was like 15 or 16,\u201d Williams told reporters in Toronto on Saturday. \u201cI was such a young person. I played the night match and I didn\u2019t know what was going on (laughing).\u00a0 But I learned a lot since that time. Folks in Canada are so nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andreescu returns home<\/p>\n
Bianca Andreescu produced a dramatic win with a terrible ending at last year\u2019s NBO in Montreal. Andreescu badly injured her ankle in the final game of her first-round win over Barbora Krejcikova and then had to pull out of her next match.<\/p>\n
Andreescu is now ranked 174th in the world after reaching No. 4 in her breakthrough 2019 campaign, which included tournament titles in Toronto and at the US Open. The native of Mississauga, Ont. has been hit hard by injuries in recent years.<\/p>\n
Andreescu has a tough draw to open the NBO. facing world No. 41 Nikola Bartunkova of Czechia in the featured evening match. The 20-year-old, who was ranked outside the top 500 last June, has wins over Belinda Bencic and Madison Keys this year.<\/p>\n
Diallo looks to reverse fortunes<\/p>\n
It has been a miserable year for Gabriel Diallo, who is 9-17 in 2026. The Montrealer has dropped to No. 99 in the rankings, and needed a wild card to get into his home event.<\/p>\n
Diallo is a long way down from his career-high No. 33 ranking, achieved last August. Diallo won his first career ATP Tour-level match at the 2023 NBO in Toronto. He hopes he can get a boost from playing at home as he opens in the featured night match against French qualifier Kyrian Jacquet on Sunday.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a very winnable match for Diallo with Jacquet ranked 120th.<\/p>\n
Match Schedule<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s, in Toronto<\/p>\n
* All starts before 2 p.m. are in rain delay<\/p>\n
Centre Court (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
Kamilla Rakhimova (UZB) vs [WC] Venus Williams (USA)\u00a0
[Q] Aoi Ito (JPN) vs [WC] Katherine Sebov (CAN)\u00a0
Not before 7 p.m.:\u00a0Nikola Bartunkova (CZE) vs [WC] Bianca Andreescu (CAN)\u00a0
Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) vs Shuai Zhang (CHN)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Grandstand (starts at 11 a.m.)
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (ESP) vs [WC] Ariana Arseneault (CAN)\u00a0
[Q] Moyuka Uchijima (JPN) vs Cristina Bucsa (ESP)\u00a0
Magdalena Frech (POL) vs [Q] Leolia Jeanjean (FRA)\u00a0
Not before 5 p.m.:\u00a0McCartney Kessler (USA) vs [WC] Cadence Brace (CAN)\u00a0
Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROU) vs Peyton Stearns (USA)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Court 1 (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
Kimberly Birrell (AUS) vs Viktorija Golubic (SUI)\u00a0
[Q] Lucrezia Stefanini (ITA) vs Camila Osorio (COL)\u00a0
Not before 4 p.m.:\u00a0[Q] Emerson Jones (AUS) vs [Q] Lanlana Tararudee (THA)\u00a0
Talia Gibson (AUS) vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Court 4 (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
Xiyu Wang (CHN) vs Sara Bejlek (CZE)\u00a0
[Q] Lois Boisson (FRA) vs Antonia Ruzic (CRO)\u00a0
[Q] Rebecca Sramkova (SVK) vs [Q] Anna Blinkova (RUS)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s, in Montreal<\/p>\n
Centre Court (starts at 11 a.m.)
Aleksandar Kovacevic (USA) vs Nuno Borges (POR)
Matteo Berrettini (ITA) vs Mariano Navone (ARG)
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) vs Corentin Moutet (FRA)
Not before 7 p.m.: [WC] Gabriel Diallo (CAN) vs [Q] Kyrian Jacquet (FRA)
[WC] Alexis Galarneau (CAN) vs Vit Kopriva (CZE)<\/p>\n
Rogers Court (starts at 11 a.m.)
Jaume Munar (ESP) vs Rinky Hijikata (AUS)
[Q] Nicolas Mejia (COL) vs Martin Landaluce (ESP)
Luca Van Assche (FRA) vs [Q] Titouan Droguet (FRA)
Not before 6 p.m.:\u00a0[Q] Sho Shimabukuro (JPN) vs Marin Cilic (CRO)
[Q] Benjamin Bonzi (FRA) vs Yannick Hanfmann (GER)<\/p>\n
Court 5 (starts at 11 a.m.)
[Q] Michael Zheng (USA) vs Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB)
[Q] Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) vs Daniel Altmaier (GER)<\/p>\n
Court 9 (starts at 11 a.m.)
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo (PAR) vs Juncheng Shang (CHN)
James Duckworth (AUS) vs [Q] Christopher O\u2019Connell (AUS)<\/p>\n
\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n
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