The National Bank Open presented by Rogers, formerly known as the Rogers Cup and commonly referred to as the Canadian Open is the largest and most prestigious tennis tournament in Canada.
Here are some fun facts that highlight the event’s rich history:
- The National Bank Open is the second oldest tennis tournament in the world, with its inaugural tournament taking place in 1881, four years after the first Wimbledon tournament was held in 1877.
- The tournament was originally called the Canadian National Championships, with its first edition held in 1881 at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club.
- This is the only professional tennis tournament on the ATP and WTA Tours where the men’s and women’s events are held simultaneously in different cities.
- The Canadian Open has been held on the York University campus since 1976, when the original National Tennis Centre was built at the north end of the campus. In 2004, the tournament moved to a new facility on the west side of the campus—now known as Sobeys Stadium—which has hosted the event ever since.
- The Canadian Open was Rafael Nadal’s most successful hard-court event, with 20% of his titles (5 out of 25) on the surface in Canada. It also stands as the only non-clay event he has successfully defended his title.
- The 2009 men’s quarterfinals in Montreal made ATP history, featuring the top 8 players in the world—all of whom advanced to the quarterfinals. It was the first time this happened at a Masters 1000 event.
- Chris Evert and Monica Seles share the record for most Canadian Open women’s singles titles in the Open Era, each winning the tournament four times.
- Monica Seles’ four Canadian Open singles titles came in consecutive years, with victories in Toronto in 1995 and 1997, and Montreal in 1996 and 1998.
- Ivan Lendl dominated the Canadian Open in the 1980s, winning six men’s singles titles—still the record for the most by any male player at the event.
- In 2013, Milos Raonic became the first Canadian to reach the tournament final since the start of the Open era, after defeating fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the semifinals.
- In 2019, Andreescu defeated Serena Williams in the final and became the first Canadian in 50 years to win a Canadian Open singles title. The last Canadian to win the tournament before her was Faye Urban in 1969.
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