Peter Polansky and Brayden Schnur to join Milos Raonic, Vasek Pospisil and Denis Shapovalov in Montreal main draw; Francoise Abanda awarded remaining wildcard for Toronto event
Montreal, August 1, 2017 – Tennis Canada announced on Tuesday the wild cards for the 2017 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank in Montreal and Toronto. The two remaining main draw wild cards for the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal are going to Canadians Peter Polansky (Thornhill, ON) and Brayden Schnur (Pickering, ON). In Toronto, the last wild card for the WTA Premier 5 main draw has been awarded to Francoise Abanda (Montreal).
Canada will be represented by seven players in the Rogers Cup main draws. Polansky and Schnur will join compatriots Milos Raonic (Thornhill, ON), Vasek Pospisil (Vancouver, BC), and Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, ON) in Montreal. Pospisil and Shapovalov were given their wild cards earlier this summer, while Raonic earned direct entry. Abanda will join Eugenie Bouchard (Montreal), whose wild card had also been previously confirmed. The third wild card for the Toronto event was awarded to former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova.
Polansky is having a strong summer, having reached three finals in a row on the ATP Challenger Tour. The Canadian finished runner up in Winnipeg, Gatineau, and Granby. Ranked no. 115 in the world, a career-high, he also qualified for the Australian Open main draw earlier this season. This will be his tenth Rogers Cup main draw appearance, with his best finish being the second round in 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2016.
At a current career-high of no. 194, Schnur broke into the top 200 for the first time following his recent success on the ATP Challenger Tour. Last week, he reached his first Challenger semifinal in Granby and was also a quarter-finalist in Winnipeg and Fergana. In addition, he has won two titles on the ITF Futures Circuit in Little Rock and Abuja this season. The 22-year-old, who played his way through qualifying in 2014, will be playing in his second Rogers Cup main draw.
Shapovalov will play Rogers Cup for the second time. Last year, he upset Nick Kyrgios in the opening round in Toronto. The 18-year-old recently played his first Grand Slam main draw at Wimbledon, where he was granted a wild card, and reached the second round of the ATP 500 event in Queen’s. He has also captured two titles on the ATP Challenger Tour this year in Drummondville and, most recently, in Gatineau. The current world No. 134 recently reached a career-high of No. 130 and is ranked No. 10 in the ATP Next Gen Race to Milan.
World no. 72 Pospisil will be making his seventh Rogers Cup main draw appearance. In 2013, he surprised John Isner and Tomas Berdych en route to an all-Canadian semi-final against Raonic, a first on the ATP World Tour since 1990. In March, he ousted world No. 1 Andy Murray to reach the third round at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Indian Wells. He also won an ATP Challenger title in Busan, South Korea, earlier in the season.
At No. 131, Abanda is the second-highest ranked female player in Canada. The 20-year-old had great Grand Slam success this summer, reaching the second round of both the French Open and Wimbledon. In April, she also led Canada to a crucial Fed Cup win against Kazakhstan. Abanda, who reached the second round in Montreal last year, will be playing in her fourth consecutive Rogers Cup.
Bouchard will be competing in the Rogers Cup main draw for a seventh consecutive year. Currently ranked no. 73 on the WTA rankings, Bouchard will look to continue her winning ways in front of her Canadian fans after reaching the third round in Montreal in 2016.
Former World No. 1 Sharapova will be playing her fifth event since her return to the competition in April. It will be her first appearance at Rogers Cup since 2014. She reached the final in 2009.
Qualifying wild cards have also been determined in both cities. In Montreal, Philip Bester (Vancouver), Filip Peliwo (Vancouver), Frank Dancevic (Niagara Falls, ON), and Benjamin Sigouin (Vancouver) will have the chance to play for a spot in the main draw. In Toronto, wild cards were given to Bianca Andreescu (Mississauga, ON), Gabriela Dabrowski (Ottawa), Katherine Sebov (Toronto), and Aleksandra Wozniak (Blainville, QC). The final wild card will be given to the winner of the pre-qualifying tournament taking place this week at Toronto’s Aviva Centre.
Rogers Cup presented by National Bank will welcome the best players of the ATP World Tour from August 4-13 at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal and the top players of the WTA from August 5-13 at Aviva Centre in Toronto. As a not-for-profit organization, Tennis Canada invests all net proceeds from the tournaments directly back into growing the sport of tennis across Canada. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit rogerscup.com.
