4th Aug, 2025
The North American hardcourt swing is well and truly heating up, with a week’s worth of the Canadian Open taking place over the past seven days. Some were skeptical due to the big number of players missing like Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka but the event has produced high-quality tennis so far, including a massive upset. Read on to find out everything that happened on and off the courts in the past week.
Canadian Open unfolds
No new winners were crowned in the past week, as both the ATP and WTA Tours have been busy competing in their two-week events in Canada.
Both tournaments have delivered some interesting results so far, such as Alexei Popyrin once again doing amazing stuff on his favorite surface. He won the event last year and is back to the quarter-finals this year with upset wins over Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.
It has to be noted though that he’s doing this on different courts though as he won in Montreal last year and this year he’s playing in Toronto. On the women’s side we have native Canadian Victoria Mboko doing amazing things.
The 18-year old has been tearing up the lower levels of tennis this year – coming into Canada with a 46-9 overall record – and four more wins already means she’s through to the quarter-finals. This run so far has earned her a jump to No 55 in the world which is a new career high. She’s not done yet either; a new star is being born in Montreal.
Tennis ball quality called into question yet again
Previous seasons have seen an increasing number of players complaining about the poor quality of balls. These not only make it hard to play tennis but also contribute to an increase in injuries. Many fans assumed that this issue would be sorted by 2025 but apparently not as Taylor Fritz once again confirmed that the balls in Canada have been dreadful to play with.
“It’s very difficult to produce good tennis here,” the American said last week. “I have the impression that we’re seeing a lot of poor tennis. Has to do with the balls, which are most difficult to control.”
Zverev suffers from premature celebration
A rather bizarre scene happened in Toronto this week when Zverev was playing Adam Walton. The German served what he thought was a set-clinching ace, letting out a big roar in celebration afterwards. However, it was called out by the umpire- to the surprise of Zverev – who had to serve again. While impressive, the roar ultimately was premature and has already become a meme in tennis circles.
Kudermetova -namedrops Rune as Instagram DM’er
Noted Russian player Veronika Kudermetova spoke with fellow player Elena Vesnina in a podcast last week, and name-dropped Rune as a player who messaged her on social media.
Kudermetova revealed that she told Rune that she was married after which he stopped. The revelation created a frenzy in tennis social media circles but Rune has not commented on the situation so far.
“I say – boy, I’m probably too old for you. If you watched my Instagram, I have a husband. After that he stopped,” Kudermetova relayed.
Medvedev leaves without equipment following a loss
Medvedev has created some memorable tennis moments over the years yet his latest creation might just be his most fascinating one. After losing to Popyrin, the Russian just walked off the court without taking his gear with him which has never been seen before. Usually players collect their stuff and leave but Medvedev just walked off. His opponent, Popyrin, was as surprised as most in the crowd.
Evans sticks up for regular folk
Dan Evans might not be at the peak of his powers anymore but the Brit remains as sharp-tongued as ever. Coming from humble beginnings is something he’s proudly talked about many times. Last week, he took a moment to remind tennis players of their privilege in a sense.
Fellow player Alejandro Davidovich Fokina recently complained about having to play as early as 11:00 am to which Evans simply responded on social media that most of the world wakes up and works much earlier than that. The move earned much praise from fans around the world.
“The world wakes up and works 9-5 even 8-6 pathetic,” wrote Evans in response.
Dan Evans’ response to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s frustration with the ATP’s scheduling in Toronto:
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 1, 2025
“Wake up and play. The world wakes up and works 9-5 even 8-6, pathetic” ? https://t.co/siRGGPKcKx pic.twitter.com/3Q4wXNRWl1
Coming up this week
Coming up this week, it’s the business-end of the Canadian Open in Montreal and Toronto. Will we see more surprise champions? We’ll know in a little under a week, after which action heads straight to Cincinnati as the path to the US Open continues.
