Notable Names Ready to Compete in Granby

The Granby National Bank Championships are underway with impressive men’s and women’s fields set to duke it out for top honours as the Canadian summer hard court swing continues.

The men’s singles draw of the ATP Challenger Tour event is headed by world no. 90 Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia who recently made the third round at Roland-Garros and who has enjoyed considerable success in doubles partnering with his compatriot Nick Kyrgios. The second seed is world no. 139 Arthur Cazaux of France and China’s Juncheng Shang is seeded third.

Meanwhile, the top Canadians in the draw are Vasek Pospisil, who is making his return to the court following a hiatus at the start of the season, and Alexis Galarneau will also be looking for success in his home province. Speaking of extended absences, Brayden Schnur has been awarded a main draw wild card after beginning his comeback in Laval last week. He was away from the game for over a year. Pospisil will face Adam Walton in the opening round, Galarneau will meet Omar Jasika, Schnur gets Christian Harrison, and Justin Boulais, who is the other wild card recipient, awaits a qualifier.

READ: VICTORIA MBOKO GOES BACK-TO-BACK IN SASKATOON

Defending champion Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, who won his first pro title in Granby last year, opted to continue his grass court season this week at the ATP event in Newport, Rhode Island.

Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is the top seed in the women’s draw as she looks to win her first title of 2023 as she gets back on home soil. She’ll take on a qualifier in round one. Her fellow Canadians Katherine Sebov, Stacey Fung, Bianca Jolie Fernandez, and Annabelle Xu also drew qualifiers in the first round.

As for the rest of the Canadian content in the draw, Victoria Mboko, who successfully defended her Saskatoon crown on Sunday, will open against American veteran Jamie Loeb as she looks to keep her win streak alive. Kayla Cross will face second-seeded American Ashlyn Krueger, Layne Sleeth gets sixth-seeded Himeno Sakatsume of Japan, Cadence Brace will go head-to-head against Marcela Zacharias, and Mia Kupres will meet Makenna Jones.

Former world no. 13 Jennifer Brady will make her much-anticipated return to tennis in Granby following a two-year injury-related absence. The 2021 Australian Open finalist and 2020 U.S. Open semifinalist will begin her comeback against Japan’s Kyoka Okamura.

The professional tennis summer calendar in Canada also includes stops in Winnipeg, and St-Augustin during the month of August. Not to mention the National Bank Open presented by Rogers when all the best players in the world will showcase their talents in Montreal and Toronto beginning in less than three weeks.