Canadian Open Draw 2026: Bracket, Seeds & Draw Guide
The Canadian Open draw is one of the most anticipated moments of the summer tennis calendar.
When the official bracket drops in late July, fans immediately start analyzing matchups, predicting upsets, and tracking their favourite players through the bracket.
This page explains everything about how the National Bank Open draw works, how seeding operates, and what to expect from both the ATP Montreal and WTA Toronto brackets in 2026.
National Bank Open 2026: Your Canadian Open Tennis Fan Guide.
The official Canadian Open draw is typically released a few days before the main draw begins. Based on the 2026 tournament schedule, here is what fans can expect:
| Event | Expected Date |
|---|---|
| Qualifying Draw Released | Late July 2026 |
| Qualifying Rounds | August 1-2, 2026 |
| Main Draw Released | Around July 29-30, 2026 |
| Main Draw Begins | August 3, 2026 |
Where to find the official draw:
- Official National Bank Open website at nationalbankopen.com
- ATP tour official website for Montreal men’s draw
- WTA tour official website for Toronto women’s draw
- This page will publish the full bracket as soon as it is officially released
What happens when the draw drops:
- Seeds are placed into their respective quarter of the draw
- Unseeded players are drawn randomly into remaining spots
- Potential matchups and bracket analysis begin immediately
- Fans start tracking their favourite players through the bracket
Bookmark this page now. The moment the official Canadian Open draw is released in late July 2026, it will be published here with full bracket details and analysis.
How the Canadian Open Draw Works
The Canadian Open draw follows a straight knockout format. Every player who enters the tournament is placed into a bracket and must win every match to lift the title.
Round by round progression:
| Round | Players In | Players Out |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 64 unseeded players | 32 eliminated |
| Round 2 | 64 players remaining | 32 eliminated |
| Round of 16 | 32 players remaining | 16 eliminated |
| Quarterfinals | 8 players remaining | 4 eliminated |
| Semifinals | 4 players remaining | 2 eliminated |
| Final | 2 players remaining | 1 champion crowned |
Key things fans should know:
- Top 32 seeds skip round 1 and enter at round 2
- The draw is split into four quarters
- Top seeds are kept apart so they can only meet in the semifinals or final
- Upsets in early rounds can completely change the expected path to the title
How Seeding Works at the Canadian Open
Seeding is one of the most important parts of the Canadian Open draw. It determines where players are placed in the bracket and who they are likely to face in each round.
What is a seed?
A seed is a ranking given to the top players in the draw to protect them from meeting each other too early in the tournament.
How seeds are determined:
- Seeds are based on current ATP and WTA rankings at the time of the draw
- The top 32 players in the entry list receive seeded positions
- Seed 1 is the highest-ranked player in the draw
- Seeds are updated if a higher-ranked player withdraws before the draw
What seeding means for the bracket:
| Seed | Draw Placement | Round 1 Bye |
|---|---|---|
| Seeds 1-4 | One per quarter of the draw | Yes |
| Seeds 5-8 | Protected within each quarter | Yes |
| Seeds 9-32 | Placed within specific sections | Yes |
| Unseeded players | Randomly drawn | No |
Why seeding matters for fans:
- Top seeds are guaranteed not to meet until the quarterfinals at the earliest
- Seeds 1 and 2 can only meet in the final
- An unseeded player can cause a major upset by beating a seed early
- The seeding system makes the later rounds more likely to feature the best players
Understanding seeding helps fans predict potential matchups and follow the Canadian Open tennis draw more closely throughout the tournament.
ATP Montreal Draw vs WTA Toronto Draw
One of the unique things about the Canadian Open draw is that two completely separate brackets run at the same time across two different cities.
Here is how the two draws compare:
| Feature | ATP Montreal Draw | WTA Toronto Draw |
|---|---|---|
| Venue | IGA Stadium | Sobeys Stadium |
| Draw Size | 96 Players | 96 Players |
| Top Seeds | 32 seeded players | 32 seeded players |
| Round 1 Bye | Top 32 seeds | Top 32 seeds |
| Wildcards | ATP wildcards | WTA wildcards |
| Draw Release | Late July 2026 | Late July 2026 |
| Finals Day | August 13, 2026 | August 13, 2026 |
Key differences between the two draws:
- ATP Montreal features the world’s best men’s players competing for 1000 ATP ranking points
- WTA Toronto features the world’s best women’s players competing for 1000 WTA ranking points
- Both draws follow the same knockout format and seeding system
- Both draws are released around the same time in late July
What fans should know:
- Both finals are held on August 13, 2026 making it a huge day for Canadian tennis fans worldwide
- You can follow both draws simultaneously online
- The two draws are completely independent of each other
- Results in one city have no impact on the other draw
Past Canadian Open draw Highlights
Some of the most memorable moments in Canadian Open history started with an interesting draw matchup.
Here is a quick look at how recent draws played out across both ATP and WTA tournaments.
2025 Highlights
| Tour | Champion | Runner Up | Key Storyline |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATP Montreal | Ben Shelton | TBC | Shelton’s powerful serve dominated the draw |
| WTA Montreal | Victoria Mboko | Naomi Osaka | Historic Canadian champion on home soil |
2024 Highlights
| Tour | Champion | Runner Up | Key Storyline |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATP Toronto | Alexei Popyrin | Hubert Hurkacz | Surprise champion, biggest win of his career |
| WTA Montreal | Jessica Pegula | Donna Vekic | Consistent Pegula claims first Canadian title |
2023 Highlights
| Tour | Champion | Runner Up | KEY Storyline |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATP Montreal | Jannik Sinner | Carlos Alcaraz | Preview of tennis’s greatest modern rivalry |
| WTA Toronto | Coco Gauff | Karolina Muchova | Gauff claims first Canadian Open title |
What past draws tell us:
- Hard court specialists consistently perform well in both draws
- Upsets happen regularly, especially in the early rounds
- Canadian Open tennis draws have produced some of the most exciting finals in recent memory
- The bracket always throws up surprise contenders alongside the expected favourites