Victoria Mboko’s run at the Canadian WTA 1000 event in Montreal was the tournament’s defining storyline. The unseeded, 85th-ranked wild card and 18-year-old Canadian arrived amid broader disruptions to the summer schedule, when both Canadian Masters events contended with high-profile withdrawals and calendar overlap with Cincinnati. Those issues did not stop Montreal from producing a champion who captured the nation.

Mboko had entered the week with momentum from her rookie season, which included four straight ITF titles without dropping a set. She grew into a crowd favorite as she progressed, highlighted by a fourth-round 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 1 seed Coco Gauff. The final saw Mboko prevail over Naomi Osaka, but the semifinal against Elena Rybakina was the match that defined her title run.

Rybakina dominated early, taking the first set 6-1, but Mboko refused to relent. “I always think of sets as, like, checkpoints,” she said. “Once I finish the first set, I completely put it behind me, and I start a new little chapter…I put a lot more emphasis in my movement and my defending skills and what I’m supposed to do on court, and I try to sharpen up and clean up a lot of my mistakes.”

In the second set Mboko found angles and depth, building leads of 3-1 and 5-3 before converting a break at 6-5 with an inside-out backhand pass on double set point. The third set tested her physically; she fell and hurt her wrist in the second game yet continued to battle. Rybakina reached match point at 5-4, but Mboko answered with a short-hop forehand and forced an error to hold on. At deuce she produced decisive returns to break back and force a tiebreak.

The breaker showcased Mboko’s nerve. After trading errors and momentum swings she produced an inside-in forehand winner at 4-4 that put her two points from the match. Rybakina could not recover from 4-5, and Mboko advanced to the final to a raucous home crowd. “It’s unbelievable to even think about it,” said Mboko, who would finish the season another title, in Hong Kong, and a Top 25 ranking.

“I wanted as much as I can to put as many balls in the court and to fight as hard as I possibly could. I wanted to stay really calm as well.”

Ben Shelton finished 2025 having moved past the label of prospect. The 23-year-old began the year as an athlete and a star; by season’s end he had added the consistency to be called a player.

Armed with a 6’4 frame and a live left arm, Shelton arrived with a devastating serve-forehand combination and a personality suited to big moments. Early inconsistencies remained through the spring after a run to the Australian Open semifinals, but clay provided an unexpected turning point. He reached the Munich final and forced Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros, saying the slower courts helped him pick his spots to attack.

The summer consolidated that progress. Shelton made his first Wimbledon quarterfinal, captured his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto and climbed to a career-high No. 5. He credited practical changes for the leap: watching more film, leaning into his strengths and sharpening his return. “Seeing the plays you want to make before you make them, that’s been a big one for me.” “I feel like I have a good grasp now on the things that really work for me.” “I want to be one of the best returners in the world. I’m on my way.”

Still, the 2025 season also exposed the challenge ahead. Shelton sits between two tiers: clearly above most peers but behind the Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner ceiling. That in-between status requires both the ambition to upset the duopoly and the steadiness to remain ahead of the next group.

Health will be central. Shelton arrived at Flushing Meadows as a genuine title threat but a sudden shoulder injury ended his US Open abruptly. He returned later to clinch a maiden ATP Finals berth but went 0-3 in round-robin play and fell from No. 5 to No. 9 after one poor week.

On the head-to-head front he faces a steep climb: Sincaraz lead Shelton by a combined 11-1. “If you want to win a big title these days, that’s who you’ve got to go through,” conceded Shelton at the US Open. “I think that, you know, for me, I get too far ahead of myself, and next thing you know you trip over your own feet and you don’t even give yourself a chance to get started,” he added, aiming to focus on creating opportunities rather than fixating on opponents. The question for 2026 is whether he can stay healthy, keep refining his game and make that final leap.

The 2025 Canadian Open saw an unusual absence of top players, a pattern the tournament director says should change in 2026. World No 1 Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz were among several high-profile players who did not feature, joined by Novak Djokovic and world No 5 Jack Draper, as many opted for an extended break after Wimbledon.

Reigning world No 3 Alexander Zverev became the top seed for the event, with Taylor Fritz seeded No 2 and Lorenzo Musetti No 3. In that depleted field, fourth seed Ben Shelton won the title, defeating Karen Khachanov in the final to capture his maiden Masters 1000 trophy.

The Canadian Open has now suffered heavy withdrawals for two years running. In 2024, Alcaraz, Djokovic and other leading players missed the event because of the Paris Olympics. Tournament Director Karl Hale said organisers are actively seeking a different outcome for 2026.

“Losing the top players is not something we desire,” he said on the Nothing Major Podcast with John Isner. “I believe Carlos and Jannik should consider our circuit, the ATP, and commit to playing.

“We are in talks with them to ensure they participate next year. In 2026, there will be three weeks between Wimbledon and Montreal. This year there were only two. That’s a significant change.”

Player workload and the length of the season were cited repeatedly as reasons for withdrawals. After his second-round win at the Cincinnati Open, Alcaraz addressed the issue directly.

“I love having time for me if I have to be honest. I always say that’s what you are working for as well, you know?” he said on the Tennis Channel.

“Okay, I love playing tennis and I love when I step on the court, but sometimes it’s too many days in a row, too many weeks in a row. So I just love to take my time off just with my family, with my friends, just at home, doing nothing at all.”

Hale acknowledged broader calendar concerns. “The calendar has a problem: it’s too long. There are many 250 and 500 tournaments. The Saudi tournament is upcoming, and soon they will announce its schedule and duration,” he added. “When Sinner and Alcaraz withdrew this year, we spoke with them and said, ‘Okay, in 2026 you will be in Montreal. Ensure that happens’. I’m confident they will be there next year, with the bonuses we offer and the three weeks between tournaments.”