National Bank Open
All four National Bank Open semi-finals are played on Wednesday evening in Canada — the early hours of Thursday in the UK — and the men’s last four in Montreal contains not one of the players who started the fortnight as a favourite, except the man who won it last year. In Toronto, two former champions meet in one half and the second and fourth seeds in the other. All times below are CET.
Toronto: Świątek v Svitolina (01:00 CET), Rybakina v Gauff (02:10 CET)
Iga Świątek has been the most convincing player in the draw. She needed 64 minutes to take apart Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-1 in the quarter-finals, having also recovered from a set down against Marta Kostyuk in the round of 16. It is her first semi-final in Toronto and her second at the tournament, after 2023. Their head-to-head record is the more established of the two.
Elina Svitolina arrives the harder way. The ninth seed, champion here in 2017, lost the opening set of her quarter-final to Ekaterina Alexandrova and then won ten of the next eleven games, closing it out 3-6, 6-0, 6-3. She also removed Amanda Anisimova in the last 16.
The other half is the heavyweight tie, and the Gauff v Rybakina head-to-head is a thin one — a single meeting, in Toronto in 2022. Elena Rybakina, the second seed, survived the match of the round against Naomi Osaka, winning 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. Coco Gauff comes in fresher than anyone left: her quarter-final never happened, Belinda Bencic having withdrawn with a hip injury.
Both of the pre-tournament favourites are gone. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka lost to Alexandrova in the fourth round, and third seed Jessica Pegula was beaten in straight sets by Shnaider.
Montreal: Shelton the Last Man Standing
The men’s draw has been the story of the fortnight. Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz all sat it out. Top seed Alexander Zverev then lost to Tallon Griekspoor in the second round, leaving no top-five player in the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for only the second time since 1990.
Ben Shelton is what remains of the seeding. The defending champion, and the highest-ranked man left at world No. 10, he has looked the part — through João Fonseca in the last 16 and then past Jakub Menšík 6-3, 6-1. He plays fellow American Learner Tien on Center Court from 01:10 CET, Tien having beaten Daniel Merida 6-3, 6-2.
The first semi-final, from 00:00 CET, is a first Masters 1000 semi-final for both men. Rafael Jódar has beaten the No. 8 and No. 11 seeds and then Arthur Fils 7-6(5), 6-3 to get here. Brandon Nakashima came through Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-3 after an even tighter last-16 win over Arthur Rinderknech.
How to Watch
In the UK the National Bank Open is live on Sky Sports Tennis and NOW. Our how to watch guide carries the full hard-court swing schedule.
Winners in both cities go through to Friday’s finals, and the tour moves straight on to the Cincinnati Open, whose main draw begins on Thursday.
More National Bank Open Coverage
- National Bank Open hub — the full guide
- Betting tips · Prize money · Past champions
- Every tournament we cover · 2026 tennis calendar
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