No Sinner. No Alcaraz. No Djokovic. The Canadian Open 2026 begins with the three biggest names in men’s tennis all absent, and for once that makes the event more interesting, not less. Somebody in Montreal is going to win a Masters 1000 title over the next fortnight, and the field is genuinely open in a way the tour has not offered all season. Here is our ranking of who actually lifts it.
- The Canadian Open runs 1-13 August: ATP in Montreal, WTA in Toronto, both 96-player draws.
- Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic all skipped Montreal; Alexander Zverev is the top seed.
- Ben Shelton returns as defending champion, seeded fifth.
- Sabalenka, Rybakina, Pegula and Gauff lead the Toronto seeds.
Seedings below are based on the ATP rankings of 27 July, as published with the draw on 31 July. All seeded players receive a bye into the second round, with main-draw play running 3-13 August. The tournament’s later slot this year also reshaped the entry maths, which we cover in the format section below. Full draw details sit with the ATP Tour.
Source: ATP rankings of 27 July 2026 · DC = defending champion · Bar length reflects seeding order
Who wins in Montreal? Our men’s ranking
1. Alexander Zverev — the seed this draw finally favours
Zverev arrives as world No. 2, top seed, reigning French Open champion and the 2017 winner of this event. He opens against the winner of Lorenzo Sonego vs Tallon Griekspoor, and the men most likely to trouble him early — Fritz in his quarter, Medvedev in his half — are both players he has handled on hard courts more often than not. The knock on Zverev has always been closing the biggest matches; a Masters 1000 without Sinner or Alcaraz in the building is precisely the kind he is supposed to win, and this time we think he does.
2. Ben Shelton — the defending champion with proof
Shelton won his maiden Masters 1000 title here last year, beating Karen Khachanov in three tight sets in Toronto, and returns seeded fifth. He is drawn into Medvedev’s section — a stylistic nightmare for most, but Shelton’s serve travels through slow conditions better than anyone else’s in the field. The only asterisk: he arrives via the DC Open with match play in his legs, which cuts both ways in week two.
3. Félix Auger-Aliassime — the home story with a real chance
The world No. 4 is seeded second at his home tournament, placed in the opposite half to Zverev, and opens against Luca Van Assche or a qualifier. He is still chasing a maiden Masters 1000 title, and doing it in Montreal would be the loudest possible way to land one. Our reservation is history rather than form: home pressure at this event has flattened better-established favourites than him.
4. Daniil Medvedev — the 2021 champion lying in wait
Seeded fourth, drawn in Zverev’s half, and a former champion here. Slow North American hard courts remain the surface where Medvedev’s court coverage turns matches into attrition, and a draw without the top three ranked players removes the ceiling that has capped his season. He is the best value pick in the field if you think Zverev’s old habits resurface.
5. Alex de Minaur and the rest
De Minaur, the 2023 finalist, is seeded third and drawn with Auger-Aliassime; Lehecká sits in his quarter. Fritz (7) has the game but landed in Zverev’s quarter. Cobolli (6) could meet Auger-Aliassime in the quarters and is the seed most likely to be upset before then. Casper Ruud at 10 on this surface does not scare the top half. If a name outside the seeds runs deep, watch the Sonego-Griekspoor winner — whoever survives it gets a crack at Zverev before he settles into the event.
The Toronto women’s field: ranked in two lines
Aryna Sabalenka leads the Toronto seeds ahead of Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff, with Mirra Andreeva, Linda Nosková — the newly crowned Wimbledon champion, whose run we mapped in our Wimbledon women’s preview — Iga Świątek and Amanda Anisimova completing the top eight. Reigning champion Victoria Mboko withdrew with the knee injury she picked up on grass, and Naomi Osaka, last year’s finalist, is seeded 11th.
Our Toronto ranking: Sabalenka first, Świątek second despite the seeding, Nosková third on confidence, Gauff fourth. Hard-court Świątek seeded seventh is the single best draw-price in either city, and Venus Williams accepting a wildcard gives Toronto its box-office moment regardless of results. The WTA’s official tournament page lists total prize money at $7,433,076 for the Toronto event alone.
How the format works in 2026
Both cities run 96-player straight-knockout draws with the top 32 seeds receiving first-round byes, so every seed opens in round two against an opponent with a match already played. That structure quietly favours rhythm players over slow starters — one reason defending champions historically struggle less here than at 128-draw events.
The 2026 quirk is the calendar. Because the tournament sits one week later than usual, the ATP dropped last year’s points from rankings on 3 August, before this edition finishes. The points-defending column effectively resets, seedings were locked to the rankings of 27 July, and the practical result is that nobody in Montreal is defending anything. For a player like Shelton, whose 1,000 points from last year’s title have already left his total, the fortnight is all upside — which changes how aggressively champions schedule and play.
Dark horses worth a flutter in each city
In Montreal, the obvious one is whoever wins Sonego vs Griekspoor — a brutal opener whose survivor meets Zverev with nothing to lose. Beyond that, Lehecká at eight in de Minaur’s quarter has the flat hitting that hard courts reward, and Bublik at nine remains the player nobody wants across the net in a one-week format stretched to ten days.
Toronto’s bench is deeper. Naomi Osaka, last year’s finalist, is seeded just 11th and opens against the Lys-Udvardy winner — a former world No. 1 priced like a mid-seed. Belinda Bencic won this title in 2015 and knows the site. Leylah Fernandez carries the home crowd, Alexandra Eala is the field’s most dangerous unseeded ball-striker, and Bianca Andreescu — a former champion in this country — arrives on a wildcard alongside Venus. Any of the five reaching the quarters would surprise nobody who has watched this event.
Why the absences change everything
Sinner — whose dominance we examined at Wimbledon — and Djokovic are taking extended breaks before the US Open; Alcaraz is still recovering from injury; Emma Raducanu, Jasmine Paolini and Karolína Muchová are also missing from Toronto. Because the tournament sits one week later this season, ranking points from the 2025 edition have already dropped — which means everyone in these draws is playing for pure gain heading into Cincinnati and New York.
That is the honest frame for this fortnight in Canada: a 1000-point land grab in the middle of the US Open hard-court swing, contested by everyone with something to prove and skipped by everyone with something to protect.
What this fortnight means for the US Open seedings
The stakes extend past the trophies. Montreal and Toronto open a three-event North American swing that finishes at Flushing Meadows, and the 2,000 points available across the two Masters legs will effectively write the US Open seeding lines below the absent top three. A Zverev title consolidates the No. 2 seeding behind Sinner. A deep Auger-Aliassime or de Minaur run reshuffles seeds four through eight — the band that decides which quarter of the New York draw the big three land in.
The same maths applies in Toronto with sharper edges. Sabalenka defending nothing while Pegula, Gauff and Świątek trade points among themselves means the WTA No. 1 ranking heading into New York could be decided by who survives one bad afternoon on Sobeys Stadium’s notoriously gusty centre court. Per the WTA rankings, the margins at the top are thin enough that a semi-final here moves seedlines. Watch the doubles-dodging too: players quietly pulling out of doubles mid-event is the traditional tell that a singles seed is protecting something physical before New York.
Our view at Unicorn Blogger
Our view at Unicorn Blogger
We are calling Zverev over Shelton in the Montreal final, and Sabalenka over Świątek in Toronto. The bolder half of that opinion is what it implies: we think the era of penciling Sinner or Alcaraz into every hard-court final has made the tour lazy about the second tier, and a fortnight like this one exposes who among them is actually ready for New York. If Auger-Aliassime wins his home Masters instead, we will be delighted to be wrong — but wanting a story is not the same as predicting one.
Key takeaways
- Zverev is our pick in Montreal, with defending champion Shelton the main threat from Medvedev’s section.
- Auger-Aliassime, seeded second at home, is still chasing a first Masters 1000 title.
- In Toronto, Sabalenka leads but seventh-seeded Świątek is the value pick of either draw.
- Points from 2025 have already dropped, so the full 1000 points are pure gain for everyone.
- Mboko (knee) is out as reigning Toronto champion; Venus Williams plays on a wildcard.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Canadian Open 2026 played?
The Canadian Open 2026 runs from 1 to 13 August, with qualifying on the opening weekend and 96-player main draws from 3 August. The ATP Masters 1000 event is at IGA Stadium in Montreal and the WTA 1000 at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto.
Why are Sinner, Alcaraz and Djokovic not playing this year?
Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic are taking extended breaks ahead of the US Open, while Carlos Alcaraz is still recovering from injury. Their withdrawals made Alexander Zverev the top seed in Montreal.
Who is the defending champion in Montreal and Toronto?
Ben Shelton is the men’s defending champion, having won his first Masters 1000 title at the 2025 event in Toronto by beating Karen Khachanov in three sets. On the women’s side, reigning champion Victoria Mboko withdrew from the 2026 edition with a knee injury.
Who are the top WTA seeds in Toronto?
Aryna Sabalenka is the top seed, followed by Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff. Mirra Andreeva, Wimbledon champion Linda Nosková, Iga Świątek and Amanda Anisimova complete the top eight.
How many ranking points does the Canadian Open winner get?
Both events are mandatory 1000-level tournaments, so the champions collect 1,000 ranking points — and with last year’s points already dropped from rankings, every point earned at this Masters fortnight is net gain.
The first big test of the US Open swing starts now, and the rankings that come out of it will frame everything New York asks. Montreal and Toronto rarely crown the same kind of champion twice — which is exactly why a fortnight without the top three is worth watching more closely, not less. Our full swing coverage continues through Cincinnati, alongside the deep tournament archive in our complete Wimbledon guide. We will track both draws through the fortnight in our tennis section.
