ROAD TO THE NBO: NEW COMPETITION FOR CANADIAN PLAYERS

Tennis Canada, organizer of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers (NBO), has introduced the Road to the NBO, an innovative competition designed to increase engagement and participation in the professional tournaments held in Canada. For the first time, a singles main-draw wild card to the NBO will be awarded to the Canadian man and woman who have accumulated the most points in the national events preceding Canada’s premier international tennis tournament. The 2025 edition of the NBO will be held from July 26 to August 7, with the WTA heading to Montreal and Toronto hosting the ATP.

The Road to the NBO is already underway, as professional events organized after the 2024 edition of the NBO have been factored into the current standings. Therefore, the competition kicked off for the women the week of August 19, 2024, while the men started their wild-card race the week of October 7, 2024. The cycle will always start with the first pro event held in Canada following the NBO.

ROAD TO THE NBO STANDINGS

Liam Draxl leads the men’s standings (Photo: Pascal Ratthe)
Kayla Cross leads the women’s standings (Photo: Sarah-Jade Champagne)

HOW IT WORKS

The points system is quite simple: one (1) ATP/WTA ranking point at a Canadian event equals one (1) Road to the NBO point. And, to add to the anticipation and to reward in-form players come summertime, the events held in July will be worth double the points.

In the event of a tie, the player who is ranked the highest following the update on July 21, 2025, will receive the wild card. If the player at the top of the standings by the end of the competition cannot participate at the NBO, or has already received direct entry into the tournament, the wild card will be allocated to the next player with the most points.

In addition to the two main-draw wild cards at stake as part of the Road to the NBO (one ATP, one WTA), the player with the second-most points in the men’s standings will receive a wild card into the NBO qualifiers.

Canadian events

Road to the NBO (Toronto) 

  • Edmonton National Bank Challenger (October 7-13, 2024) 
  • Calgary National Bank Challenger (October 14-20, 2024) 
  • M25 Saint-August (November 4-10, 2024) 
  • Drummondville National Bank Challenger (November 11-17, 2024) 
  • M15 Sherbrooke (March 2-9, 2025) 
  • M15 Montreal (March 11-17, 2025) 
  • M25 Laval (June 30-July 6, 2025) 
  • Winnipeg National Bank Challenger (July 7-14, 2025) 
  • Granby National Bank Championships (July 13-20, 2025) 

Women’s Road to the NBO (Montreal) 

  • W35 Saskatoon (August 19-25, 2024) 
  • Edmonton National Bank Challenger (October 7-13, 2024) 
  • Calgary National Bank Challenger (October 14-20, 2024) 
  • Saguenay National Bank Challenger (October 20-27, 2024) 
  • Tevlin Challenger (October 27-November 3, 2024) 
  • W15 Trois-Rivières (March 3-9, 2025) 
  • W15 Montreal (March 11-17, 2025) 
  • Granby National Bank Championships (July 13-20, 2025) 

Events in bold are worth double the points.