At least five Canadians will be in the main draw of the National Bank Open as the organizing committee announced the recipients of its final passports on Tuesday.

Félix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, who received the first invitation, were joined by Milos Raonic, Gabriel Diallo and Vasek Pospisil.

Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who organizers were no doubt hoping to see in Montreal for the last time in his illustrious career, did not receive such an award, suggesting that the former world number 1 with 22 major titles will not travel to the metropolis.

This is the first time that Raonic, former world number three racquet, has participated in the Montreal tournament since 2019. Last year in Toronto, he lost in the third round, just months after returning to competitive tennis after two years of inactivity.

• Also read – Out for Leylah Fernandez in singles: “Disappointed, that’s the only word that comes to mind”

• Also read – Olympic Games: Apparently Félix Auger-Aliassime is on a mission to Paris

Diallo is one of the rising stars of Quebec tennis and will be taking part in the National Bank Open for the third time. The 148^e player in the ATP rankings has been in good form recently, having won the Challenger tournament in Chicago last week without conceding a single set in five matches.

Pospisil, on the other hand, is a veteran who has already participated in this event 15 times. He notably reached the semifinals in 2013, where he fell to 616^e In the individual ranking, the British Columbian is a former member of the top 25.

Galarneau in qualifying

The organizers also offered qualifying tickets to Quebecer Alexis Galarneau (232)^e) and Taha Baadi (517^e) as well as the Ontariors Liam Draxl (271st) and Nicolas Arsenault (1560th).

The National Bank Open, which runs August 3-12, will be broadcast on TVA Sports.

In cooperation with our partners