Quebecer Eugenie Bouchard is one of the Canadian players who have received an invitation to the National Bank Open qualifying draw, Tennis Canada announced Thursday morning.
Bouchard, of Westmount, along with Ontarians Carol Zhao and Katherine Sebov are among the 28 players who will fight for the eight places available for the main draw of the Montreal tournament.
Bouchard, who currently occupies 212e world rank in singles, will return to the National Bank Open for the first time since 2019. She was a finalist at Wimbledon in 2014.
The qualifying draw will include, among others, Italian Camila Giorgi (50e world), who won the most important title of her career in Montreal in 2021 by beating the Czech Karolina Pliskova in the final.
Americans Danielle Collins (48e) and Sofia Kenin (91e) will also be there. Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, recently lost in the third round of Wimbledon to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
The final qualifying pass will be awarded to the winner of a pre-qualifying event which will take place from July 30 to August 4. It will therefore be 16 young Canadians who will fight for this final place in the qualifications.
Last week, tournament organizers announced the entry list for the main draw, which includes 41 of the world’s top 44 rackets.
The qualifying tournament will take place on August 5 and 6 at the IGA stadium. The National Bank Open will then be presented from August 7 to 13.
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