WTA Montreal Preview: Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek begin race toward final major of the year

Iga Swiatek might be the most popular player around the grounds in Montreal right now—or at least in the tournament’s front offices. Many of us would have expected her to take this tournament off after she won her first Wimbledon title, the way Jannik Sinner has on the men’s side. Instead, wanting to keep her momentum going and try to get her No. 1 ranking back, Swiatek has made the trip, and given the National Bank Open—which will be missing Aryna Sabalenka on the women’s side—a much-needed extra jolt of star power.

Iga will clock in as the No. 2 seed in Montreal. Here’s a look at what awaits her and her tour-mates in the newly expanded 96-player draw.

Coco Gauff and Swiatek are the Top 2 seeds. What are the chances we see them in the final?

The Pole and the American should both be feeling good. Neither had a great first third of the season, but they turned it on when it mattered. Gauff won her first Roland Garros in June; Swiatek won her first Wimbledon in July. Now their race toward the final Slam of the year begins.

Both also face the same problem: They’ve never played their best up north. This is the rare important event where neither of these perennial Top 5 players have made the final.

On the whole, I’d say Swiatek will have the harder road to get there this year. She could play an in-form Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round, and Clara Tauson, who is having a career year, in the fourth. Her potential quarterfinal opponents include Madison Keys, Belinda Bencic, and Karolina Muchova. If she makes the semis, she might meet two-time defending champ Jessica Pegula.

Gauff, by contrast, may face her most dangerous opponent right away: If Danielle Collins wins her opener, she’ll play Coco. After that, the highest seeds in that quarter are Jasmine Paolini (who just split with her coach), Ekaterina Alexandrova (who is 1-4 against Gauff), and Diana Shnaider. A Shnaider-Gauff fourth-rounder would be interesting; Shnaider beat her here last year, in their only meeting.

It will also be interesting to see Coco’s confidence level in Montreal. Will she be rolling in it after her Roland Garros breakthrough, or will she be hesitant after the Wimbledon first-round loss that followed? She has bounced back quickly after bad Wimbledons before.

Jessica Pegula is the two-time defending champion. Who could end her 10-match win National Bank streak?

Pegula loves her almost-native Canada. The Buffalonian not only has won the last two tournaments there, she made the semis the two previous years. She’s a fast-court lover, and has taken advantage of some other top players not quite being ready to make the transition to that surface after Wimbledon.

It has been kind of hard to know what to expect from Pegula in 2025. She’s had an excellent year overall. She’s 35-14 with three titles, and is ranked fourth. But there have been a few bumps, at bad times, in that road. After playing well on hard courts early, she didn’t do much on clay; and after winning a Wimbledon tune-up over Swiatek, she went out in the first round at the Big W itself. She’s also coming off an opening-round loss in D.C. this past week.

Pegula’s draw may present some difficulties. She could start with Maria Sakkari. Jelena Ostapenko or Liudmila Samsonova are possible third-round foes. And Amanda Anisimova, who Pegula beat in the final in Toronto last year, could be her quarterfinal opponent. Whatever form she’s in at the moment, history says Pegula will find a way into the later rounds at this event.

What are the early-round matches to watch for?

• Gauff vs. Collins, possible second round. These two friends, teammates, and countrywomen have somehow never played
• Bianca Andreescu vs. Barbora Krejcikova, with the winner to face No. 4 seed Mirra Andreeva
• Leylah Fernandez vs. Maya Joint, with the winner to play McCartney Kessler
• Alexandra Eala v. Marketa Vondrousova
• Elena Rybakina vs. Hailey Baptiste, possible second round
• Emma Navarro vs. Dayana Yastremska, possible third round
• Emma Raducanu vs. Peyton Stearns, possible second round
• Samsonova vs. Naomi Osaka, possible second round
• Alycia Parks vs. Caty McNally
• Young Canadian to watch: Victoria Mboko. The teenager has had a breakout season, and will start against Kimberly Birrell in front of her home fans