While the focus of the tour is currently on the grass courts of Europe, the next leg of the tour is starting to take shape. The Coupe Rogers, the next Premier 5 event on the WTA tour, released its preliminary entries list on Wednesday. As of now, 18 of the top 20 players in the world are expected to make the trip to Montreal, including the top nine women in the rankings.
Champions in the Field
There are five former champions on the initial entries list, led by the only active multi-titlist in Canada, world number one Serena Williams. Williams has won the Coupe Rogers three times, however,o she has never won it in Montreal, where the event is being held this year. Joining Williams will be the woman who defeated her last year on her way to the title, Belinda Bencic.
The last three editions of the Couple Rogers held in Montreal have produced three different champions. Last time the event was held in Montreal, it was current world number three Agnieszka Radwanska walking away with the title. Two years before that, Petra Kvitova scored her lone title in Canada. Way back in 2010, it was Caroline Wozniacki, ranked number two at the time, who claimed victory. All three of these women are expected to appear in Montreal. The one active former champion who will not be participating in the Coupe Rogers is 2006 champion Ana Ivanovic, who was not included on the entries list.
Best of the Rest
The top nine players in the world are all expected to make the trip to Montreal, including recent French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, former world number one Victoria Azarenka, and the last two runners-up in Canada, Simona Halep and Venus Williams. The highest ranked player not on the initial entries list is world number ten Timea Bacsinszky.
18 of the top 20 and 27 of the top 30 are planning on playing Montreal, however, it’s worth remembering that the world number 13 is Flavia Pennetta, who is retired. The lowest ranked player on the entries list is the one the fans will be most excited to see as hometown girl Eugenie Bouchard will be returning to Montreal, hoping for a better result than her last appearance in her hometown, when she lost in the first round.
The Coupe Rogers will kick off on July 22nd.