A week into the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montreal, we\u2019re reminded of how much parity there is on the Hologic WTA Tour. Seven of the top 10 seeds were eliminated before the quarterfinals, including all the top five seeds.<\/p>\n
Gone is No. 1 seed Coco Gauff, ousted by upstart 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko (much, much more on her later). So, too, is two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula, who fell in the third round to World No. 386 (386!) Anastasija Sevastova. And Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek also had an early exit, crashing out against 16th-seeded Clara Tauson.<\/p>\n
The highest-seeded player left is American Madison Keys, who had to survive two match points down to defeat 11th-seeded Karolina Muchova.<\/p>\n
But top seeds falling has only been part of the story at the first WTA 1000 tournament of the North American hard-court swing.<\/p>\n
For those who have been following along — and, particularly, those who haven\u2019t (you know who you are) — we present Courtside Changeover, a look at the week that was and a sneak peek of what\u2019s coming up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Week 1 Superlatives
\nOsaka Is Taking Names<\/p>\n
Loads of questions marks surrounded Naomi Osaka when she landed in Canada. She was coming off a loss to Yulia Putintseva in D.C. and had just announced that she had ended her brief working relationship with coach Patrick Mouratoglou.<\/p>\n
But none of that stress seems to be weighing on her — and if it is, you\u2019d certainly never know it by watching her. The four-time Grand Slam champion looks completely locked in, with four wins this week to book a spot in the quarterfinals. The fourth-round win was the most emphatic, a 6-1, 6-0 beatdown over Sevastova in just 49 minutes.<\/p>\n
Osaka drops just one game vs. Sevastova to reach Montreal quarters<\/p>\n
The Match of the Week<\/p>\n
This is always the toughest call when we put these Changeovers together, and it\u2019s been especially challenging this week, with so many epics.<\/p>\n
But we have no choice but to go with the first-round marathon between Germans Laura Siegemund and Tatjana Maria, the two oldest players in the Top 100. The 37-year-olds traded blows for an astounding 3 hours and 26 minutes, with Siegemund eking out a 7-5, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2) win. Loaded with stunning reflexes, old-school creativity and delicate touch from start to finish, it was the third-longest tour-level match of 2025, and proved that these two veterans can still go. (Not that anyone was questioning that.)<\/p>\n
Siegemund triumphs over Maria in Montreal in third-longest match of 2025<\/p>\n
The Coming-Out Party<\/p>\n
This one is a no-brainer. We knew that Mboko could really play, and has the potential to become a huge star, but this week has just been otherworldly. She came out firing out of the gate (literally), blasting 27 aces in her first two wins. (For context, she became only the fifth player since 2008 to record 12 or more aces in two matches in the same tournament.)<\/p>\n
And her most recent match was her shining moment, a straight-sets win over two-time Grand Slam champion Gauff in 1 hour and 2 minutes. All of Mboko\u2019s matches have been played on Center Court, to the delight of the adoring and supportive crowd, and she\u2019s risen to the occasion all week. She\u2019ll have to be at her best again on Monday night when she takes on Jessica Bouzas Maneiro for a spot in the semifinals.<\/p>\n
Mboko upsets top-seeded Gauff to reach Montreal quarterfinals<\/p>\n
The Point of the Tournament<\/p>\n