Toronto Open 2026: Draw, Contenders and Rising Players

By: Jun Pasion |

July 31, 2026

WTA Toronto 2026 Preview | National Bank Open

The Toronto Open 2026 brought the WTA Tour to Canada for another major chapter of the North American hard-court season. The National Bank Open featured established contenders including Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff, alongside emerging players looking to make their mark.

Among the players on Tennis Roundup’s original watchlist was Alina Korneeva, a former junior Grand Slam champion beginning her Toronto campaign in qualifying. Her progress would become one of the tournament’s developing stories.

Here’s how we introduced the field, contenders and storylines before the tournament unfolded.

The Leading Contenders

Toronto brings together many of the biggest names in women’s tennis.

Aryna Sabalenka arrives as the player everyone will be measuring themselves against, while Iga Swiatek remains one of the tour’s most formidable competitors on any surface.

Coco Gauff adds another major contender to the draw, while Jessica Pegula returns to a Canadian tournament where she has enjoyed considerable success.

Madison Keys, Elena Rybakina, Amanda Anisimova and Mirra Andreeva add even more depth to a field where navigating several rounds without encountering a dangerous opponent will be difficult.

Players We’re Watching

Alex Eala

Alex Eala arrives in Toronto as one of the young players worth watching closely.

Her continued rise has attracted growing attention well beyond the Philippines, and another WTA 1000 gives the 21-year-old an opportunity to test herself against a deep international field.

Her section of the draw could become increasingly challenging as the tournament progresses, making every round an interesting measure of where her game currently stands.

Leylah Fernandez

Few players will have more crowd support than Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.

Fernandez has already demonstrated that she can trouble the world’s best players on hard courts, and playing at home adds another storyline to her Toronto campaign.

Her path through the draw potentially brings some formidable opposition, so a deep run would need to be earned.

Jessica Pegula

Jessica Pegula has particularly strong history at the Canadian Open and enters Toronto as one of the established contenders.

Her consistency, movement and ability to redirect pace make her especially dangerous on North American hard courts.

Madison Keys

When Madison Keys finds her range, few players can take the racket out of an opponent’s hands quite as quickly.

Her aggressive first-strike tennis makes her dangerous in virtually any hard-court draw — but Toronto’s depth means there is little room for an off day.

Mirra Andreeva

Still one of the tour’s most compelling young stars, Mirra Andreeva enters another major tournament with expectations that would have seemed extraordinary for a player of her age only a short time ago.

Toronto provides another opportunity to see how her increasingly complete game stands up against an experienced WTA 1000 field.

Alina Korneeva

Alina Korneeva is perhaps the most intriguing outsider on our watchlist.

A former Australian Open and Roland Garros junior champion, Korneeva has been working her way toward the upper levels of the professional game.

Unlike the established seeds, however, her Toronto journey begins in qualifying. That makes her worth following from the very beginning: simply reaching the main draw would represent the first step in what could become an interesting tournament.

Don’t Forget the Doubles

Toronto isn’t only about singles.

The doubles draw brings together established teams and players who regularly produce some of the most entertaining tennis of the week.

One player we’ll be keeping an eye on is Desirae Krawczyk, whose doubles experience and success at the highest level make her particularly interesting whenever she enters a major WTA event.

Our daily Toronto roundups will include notable doubles results alongside the singles stories.

What Could Define Toronto 2026?

Three broader questions stand out before play begins.

Can the leading seeds impose themselves?
A deep WTA 1000 field gives even the biggest names little margin for error.

Which young player takes another step forward?
Andreeva is already established among the elite, while players such as Eala and Korneeva represent different stages of the next generation’s progression.

Who finds form ahead of New York?
Toronto isn’t the US Open, but performances during this stretch of the season can offer early clues about players finding confidence on North American hard courts.

And as always, the draw will probably produce a few names nobody expected to be discussing by the second week.