Monday Digest: 2025 Trophy Cabinet Filling Up

That was one busy week for Canadian tennis. 

The trophies kept rolling in on the ATP and ITF circuits, but much of the focus was in Montreal on a thrilling Davis Cup tie. 

Here’s what you need to know. 

In Case You Missed It: Canada’s Comeback Falls Short, Auger-Aliassime Strikes Again 

Team Canada presented by IGA nearly picked up a win for the ages in their Davis Cup Qualifiers 1^st Round tie in Montreal against Hungary, but it was not meant to be. The Hungarians defeated Canada 3-2 to knock the 2022 champions out of contention in 2025 and send them to the World Group I in September. 

The hosts got off to a slow start in the tie, losing both singles matches on Saturday to fall within a point of defeat. They rallied brilliantly on Sunday, courtesy of a doubles win from Liam Draxl and Vasek Pospisil, who announced at the end of the weekend that it was his final Davis Cup tie, followed by a dominant singles win from Gabriel Diallo, but Marton Fucsovics stopped the comeback in the fifth and final match with a singles win over Alexis Galarneau. 

CLICK HERE for all the news and results from Canada’s Davis Cup tie in Montreal. 

Félix Auger-Aliassime was on the other end of a wild comeback at the ATP 250 event in Montpellier. In the final of the Open Occitanie, he cruised through the first set and had multiple match points in the second but ultimately was pushed to a third-set tiebreak by qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic. The Canadian was able to hang on, winning his second title already in 2025 in just his third regular tour event of 2025. 

He had cruised into the final with wins over Arthur Cazaux, Yunchaokete Bu, and Jesper de Jong before being pushed to the edge by Kovacevic. The win was Auger-Aliassime’s seventh title on the ATP Tour, sixth indoors, leaving him one back of Milos Raonic for the most singles titles all-time by a Canadian. 

Rebecca Marino was the only other Canadian playing on the main tour last week. She lost in the first round of the Singapore Open to fourth seed Xinyu Wang 

Click here for more news and results from the ATP and WTA Tours.

What to Watch: Canadian men have top seeds in the crosshairs 

The draw gods were not kind to the Canadian men this week on the ATP Tour, as both Félix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov could meet the top seeds at their respective tournaments in the second round. 

Auger-Aliassime could renew his rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam, which the Canadian won back in 2022, if he beats qualifier Andrea Vavassori in the first round.  

Alcaraz has won the last four meetings in a row between himself and the Montrealer and leads the head-to-head 4-3. However, Auger-Aliassime has won both of their previous meetings on indoor hardcourts. 

If he does upset the four-time major champion, Auger-Aliassime could meet No. 5 seed Holger Rune in the quarter-finals. Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz are potential semifinal opponents with Daniil Medvedev lurking on the bottom half of the draw as the second seed in a loaded bracket. 

Read also: Canada Gave It Everything at Davis Cup, Now a Tough Road Begins

Shapovalov faces a similar challenge as his countryman. If he beats Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round of the ATP 250 Dallas Open, he could face top seed Taylor Fritz in the second round. The Canadian actually leads their head-to-head 5-4 but Fritz has won the last two meetings, with Shapovalov’s last win coming back in 2022.  

An upset could set a quarter-final clash with sixth seed Tomas Mahac. Third seed Tommy Paul would likely be waiting in the semis. 

Leylah Annie Fernandez is back in action for the first time since the Australian Open this week at the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi. She is seeded eighth and will meet Moyuka Uchijima in the first round. 2024 Newcomer of the Year Lulu Sun would be her second-round opponent. 

No. 3 seed Daria Kasatkina is Fernandez’s projected quarter-final opponent. She is in the bottom half of the draw with No. 2 seed Paula Badosa. Elena Rybakina is the top seed.  

Marina Stakusic will be competing in her first WTA Tour main draw of the year this week at the 250 event in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. She will face Sorana Cirstea in the first round with No. 6 seed Jessica Bouzas Maneiro potentially waiting in round two. Fourth seed Anhelina Kalinina is her projected quarter-final opponent.  

Under the Radar: Natural Hat Trick for Mboko 

If Félix Auger-Aliassime’s two titles in three tournaments is impressive, then have a look at Victoria Mboko. The 18-year-old is a perfect three-for-three in 2025 on the ITF Tour, claiming her third singles title of the year last week at an ITF event in Rome, Georgia. 

This title was a little bit trickier as she had to come through qualifying but that did not slow Mboko down. She once again won the title without dropping a set, including quarter-final and semifinal wins over compatriots Kayla Cross, whom she beat 6-0, 6-0, and Cadence Brace. The teen beat Eva Vedder of the Netherlands 7-5, 6-3 in the final. 

Mboko is not only a perfect 17-0 in singles, including qualifying, this year, but she has not even dropped a set, having won all 32 completed sets she’s played (she won one match when an opponent retired in the first set). She is up to six ITF singles titles in her career, with the W75 in Georgia last week being the biggest one yet. 

The teen’s totally perfect record in 2025 was broken last week in Rome as she and Cadence Brace were beaten in the second round of the doubles, Mboko’s first loss in any discipline this year. She had won the doubles at her first two events too. 

Dan Martin was a winner on the ITF men’s tour, picking up his first professional doubles title at an M15 event in Huamantla, Mexico with Frenchman Enzo Wallart. They defeated the fourth-seeded Colombian pair of Samuel Heredia and Juan Sebastian Osorio 10-8 in the match tiebreak to claim the title. 

Juan Carlos Aguilar reached the biggest final of his career to date last week at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Cleveland, Ohio in doubles, but lost in the title match. 

You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.