Tennis Canada announced today that Rebecca Marino (Vancouver, BC), Marina Stakusic (Mississauga, ON), Carson Brantine (Montreal, QC) and Kayla Cross (London, ON) received a pass for the main draw of the National Bank Omnium presented by Rogers (OBN) in Montreal.
They will join their compatriots Leylah Annie Fernandez (35th), qualified directly, as well as Bianca Andreescu (185th), Victoria Mboko (86th) and Eugenie Bouchard, who had obtained the first pass for the tournament which will take place from July 26 to August 7, at the IGA stadium.
Marino (117th), who has already occupied the 38th step, will be in a sixth participation in the main draw of the OBN. In 2021, she had reached the knockout stages thanks to victories against the American Madison Keys and the Spanish Paula Badosa beforeryna Sabalenka stopped her journey. Finalist last month at the Ilkley tournament, in Great Britain, Marino hopes to continue his momentum in front of the Montreal public.
Stakusic, 142nd, will return to competition after granting a few weeks of rest to treat an injury following Roland-Garros. It will be his second participation in the main draw of the OBN. Last year, she received a pass and crossed the first round by taking the measure of Erika Andreeva. In 2025, she reached the quarter -finals of two WTA category 125 tournaments and represented Canada during the Billie Jean King Cup qualifications in Japan, during which she signed a single victory against Romania.
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BRANSTINE, 178th, will make her debut to the main draw of the OBN. The young player is experiencing an exceptional season during which she qualified for her first main picture of a Grand Chelem event in Wimbledon. To do this, she indicated the release to Loïs Boisson, favorite of qualifying and recent semi-final of Roland-Garros, as well as her compatriot Bianca Andreescu, before losing in the first round of the large table against the world number one, Aryna Sabalenka. A few weeks earlier, she had taken the measure of the world world, Liudmila Samsonova, and reached the final of a WTA 125 tournament in Mexico. Note that she tried to qualify for the OBN on four times and is still looking for a first victory.
Cross, 230e, will also participate in the main draw of the OBN for the first time after trying his luck in the qualifications in 2021 and 2022, losing each time in the first round. She got her pass by winning Roading to the ABNa competition that rewards the Canadian having collected the most points during the tournaments played in the country before the OBN, the most important international tournament presented in Canada. This year, Cross won the title of an ITF W35 tournament in the United States, reached two quarter-finals in W75 tournaments, as well as a semi-final in a W50. Member of the Louisiana State University women’s team (LSU), it occupies the 53rd rank of the simple division 1 of the NCAA, and forms the sixth best tandem of double with Cadence Brace.
“We are pleased to announce that a record number of eight Canadian people will have the chance to take part in the main draw this year,” said Valérie Tétreault, director of the Montreal National Bank Omnium. Our tennis enthusiasts will no doubt remember this historical edition, where the experience of players like Eugenie [Bouchard] Rebecca and [Marino] will mix with the energy of our rising stars – Victoria [Mboko]Marina [Stakusic]Carson [Branstine] meat Kayla [Cross]. Our tournament has often been the scene of some of the most beautiful career performances of our Canadian players, carried by the energy and the passion of an audience that supports them in each match. It’s a week that promises to be memorable. »»
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The last pass will be awarded to Elizabeth Mandlik (No. 204) by the USA, as part of an exchange concluded last summer which had enabled Bianca Andreescu to participate in the United States.
Four Canadians in action from qualifying on Saturday July 26, as part of the IGA family weekend
In addition to these players, amateurs will also have the chance to see other Canadian talents on Saturday July 26 as part of the IGA family weekend in association with LEGO, since Carol Zhao (Richmond Hill, ON), Brace (Toronto, ON) and Katherine Sebov (Toronto, ON) have received a pass for the qualifying table. The last skill of qualifications will be attributed to the winner of a prequalification test disputed as of July 21, at the IGA stadium.
- 30 -year -old Zhao (232nd) is at the head of the Canadian contingent. Barely two weeks ago, she reached the Open Hall of Fame (WTA 125) semi-finals in the United States. His 2025 roadmap also includes a semi-final in an ITF W50 tournament in the United States and a quarter-final in a W75 event in China. It will be its 14th participation in the omnium national banking, including five in the main draw.
- Brace, 20 years old, currently occupies the best ranking of his career, the 259th. She has just reached the semi-finals of an ITF W100 tournament in the United States, after being a finalist in a W75 a few weeks earlier, also in the United States. Since January, she has been the number one player in simple LSU tennis team (8th in the NCAA classification) and trains the best team of Double Canada with Kayla Cross, 6th place in NCAA. It will take part in the omnium national banking for the first time.
- At 26, Sebov (301st) will participate in the OBN for the eighth time – for the seventh time in qualifying – and will try to obtain his first victory. In June, she reached the semi-finals of an ITF W75 tournament in the United States, as well as those of a W50 in Florida a few weeks earlier. At the start of the year, she won a W35, the fifth title of her career on the ITF professional circuit.
Star photo by: Pascal Ratthé/Tennis Canada
