Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime enters hometown National Bank Open as a favourite

MONTREAL — Félix Auger-Aliassime’s path to a long-awaited ATP Masters 1000 title has arguably never been more clear.

The Canadian tennis star would also rather earn it by beating the best.

Ranked a career-high world No. 4, Auger-Aliassime will be the second seed in the men’s singles draw at the National Bank Open, with the absence of several top stars giving him his best chance yet to win his hometown tournament.

“I feel that I’m playing well,” the 25-year-old from Montreal said Thursday. “I feel like I have good chances to play a good tournament, but everything starts from the first day and you have to be on your toes.”

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic — the three biggest draws in the men’s game — will miss the tournament for the second consecutive year.

Sinner and Djokovic withdrew last week after appearing on the entry list, while Alcaraz continues to recover from a wrist injury that forced him to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon.

Auger-Aliassime grew up a 10-minute drive from IGA Stadium and fondly remembers watching greats Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic from the stands. He called it “a shame” that top players have skipped Canada in recent years.

“I’ve loved this tournament, especially being from here, since I’m a kid,” he said. “I’ve come here to watch the best players — Roger, Novak, Rafa, they’ve all played here.

“I would rather have all the best players and beat all the players.”

The National Bank Open, which alternates men’s and women’s tournaments between Toronto and Montreal each year, holds a difficult spot on the jam-packed tennis calendar. The tournament typically begins two or three weeks after Wimbledon and ends the same day the Cincinnati Open — another Masters 1000 event leading into the U.S. Open — gets underway.

As for a solution, Auger-Aliassime said those discussions are at the top of the agenda with the ATP.

“There’s more and more ideas that are brought up of how we could find a balance of protecting the players and their choices, but also protecting the tournaments,” he said. “Ideas like not being able to skip the same tournament two years in a row, right?

“Guarantee a tournament that if you don’t get the No. 1 and 2 in the world one year, they will get them the next year.”

Big names or not, Auger-Aliassime arrives back home playing some of the best tennis of his career — and without a coach.

The big-serving Canadian reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, where he fell to Djokovic in an epic five-set match that lasted five hours 15 minutes.

He announced after the grass-court Grand Slam that it was his final tournament with longtime coach Frédéric Fontang, a decision he had made after losing in the French Open quarterfinals.

Auger-Aliassime did not have an exact timeline, but expected to announce his next coach following the U.S. Open in September, hoping a fresh voice can help him win his first Masters 1000 and Grand Slam titles.

“It was time to move on after 10 years, and for me to respect the curiosity I have into learning from different people that might look at my game from a different angle, and just to learn a bit more about the highest level and about the highest standards of tennis,” he said. “What I’m looking for is really to improve my game, to improve my tennis as a whole.”

In the meantime, Auger-Aliassime will work with his father, Sam Aliassime, who he said won’t hesitate to tell him what he needs to hear.

“Brings a lot of honesty, but also the unconditional support that every parent has for their kid,” he said. “Beyond being a coach, simply as a dad, he brings me a great deal because in difficult moments, when we have to have tougher conversations or when I need to be better on certain days, I feel he’s always the person who wants what’s best for me and who can give me the honest truth.”

The 12-day National Bank Open begins with qualifying Saturday before first-round action. The top 32 seeds receive first-round byes at the US$9.4-million tournament, with top-seeded Alexander Zverev and defending champion Ben Shelton among Auger-Aliassime’s biggest challengers.

Auger-Aliassime watched closely as Victoria Mboko captivated Montreal with her run to last year’s women’s title.

“I was glued to my screen,” he said. “I could feel the emotions the crowd experienced here … of course I hope to do what she did last year.”

No Canadian man has won the tournament’s singles title in the Open era. Auger-Aliassime will have his best opportunity yet.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press