How rain wreaked havoc with the start and end of tournaments across North America
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court.
This week, the start and end of tournaments fell victim to rain, a cult figure stuck to his lore and a calendar quirk could have an effect on a big comeback.
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How did rain wreak havoc across the tennis world?
As the D.C. Open in Washington saw its finals postponed due to rain, the Canadian Open’s two-city setup couldn’t stop more delays. The ATP and WTA 1000 event rotates its men’s and women’s draws between Toronto and Montreal, and both venues saw cancellations Sunday. The men’s event in Montreal saw just two completed matches, and the women’s event in Toronto had little luck of its own.
At 2:27 p.m. local, Venus Williams played the first point of the women’s event against Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova in Toronto, kicking off Day 1 of the tournament. But just seven matches were completed in the day session, including Williams losing 6-4, 6-1.
Before the night session, the opening ceremony took place at 7 p.m., with an appearance from 2025 champion Victoria Mboko, who is unable to compete due to a left-knee injury. Hometown favorite Bianca Andreescu and Nikola Bartůňková of the Czech Republic walked on to the main court at Sobeys Stadium, only for raindrops to return. After sitting in their chairs, the players exited the court.
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The spitting rain turned to a light drizzle before intensifying, forcing fans to huddle inside the concourse. At 7:55 p.m., tournament organizers canceled the night session, postponing the matches to Monday. A few stragglers snapped photos inside the stadium before exiting.
For night-session ticket holders, the cancellation meant they never got to see any tennis. For the tournament, it meant refunding a whole lot of tickets.
Ilia, from Ukraine, and Lindo, from Portugal, who spoke on condition that their last names not be used, traveled from Barrie, Ontario, a city one hour north of Toronto, to be at the Canadian Open. For Ilia, it was his first time attending this tournament while it was Lindo’s second appearance.
As they watched the rain continue to fall from the concourse, the inevitable reality was starting to creep in.
“It’s disappointing,” Lindo said.
Although night-session ticket holders will receive a full refund because no matches were completed, many still missed the opportunity to experience professional tennis in person — an outing they had planned months in advance.
For seven-time major champion Williams, who experienced a three-hour delay before her first-round match, it wasn’t anything new.
“In tennis, we play outside, so you can’t control the weather,” she said in a news conference.
— Lukas Weese
How did a cult player perfectly adhere to their lore?
Any tennis fans who came to the sport after the mid-2010s that were watching Bernard Tomic carve his way through the Los Cabos Open in Mexico last week might have been waiting to learn about the story of a resurgent Australian who has spent the past few years bouncing around ATP Challenger Tour events and qualifying draws.
Tomic, 33, a two-time junior Grand Slam champion from Australia, is the definition of a tennis enigma, or less kind variations on that word for some. He was a much-heralded teen in the late aughts. In an interview at the 2012 U.S. Open, the late U.S. coaching great Nick Bollettieri spoke about how hard it was going to be to win Grand Slams during the next decade because of all the quality at the top of the men’s game.
He name-checked Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray — and Tomic. His ability to massage the ball around the court and suddenly switch into a higher gear made him a danger to any player, but talent outweighed application — with accusations of tanking and one £45,000 fine for it dogging him — and he never went beyond a Grand Slam quarterfinal. Still, he has persisted, two weeks ago winning a Challenger Tour title and saying in his on-court interview that he had been planning 2026 as his last year but would have to reassess.
Bernard Tomic reached his first tour-level semifinal in nearly eight years at the Los Cabos Open. (Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
But instead of requiring a dive into the history books, Tomic duly produced his career arc in miniature, adhering to his lore as best he could.
In Mexico, entered the main draw as a lucky loser, despite having retired from his last match in qualifying with a stomach illness. Then he recorded the fastest ATP Tour win of 2026, by dispatching Mexico’s Juan Alejandro Hernández Serrano, 6-1, 6-1 in 46 minutes, before stunning No. 4 seed Karen Khachanov in straight sets with a vintage performance. He declined an interview request from The Athletic in order to focus on the competition.
And then he lost his semifinal against Cameron Norrie in 50 minutes, 6-1, 6-0. The Athletic tried to reach him again. He is yet to respond.
— Matt Futterman
What could a rankings quirk mean for the return of a star?
With the Canadian Open a week later in the calendar than last year, players who did well in 2025 have seen the rankings points they earned drop from their totals before the 2026 event has started. This doesn’t mean much for the event itself, but it does mean something for the possible return of a player named Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz, the seven-time Grand Slam champion, has been out with a wrist injury since April. He has now started hitting tennis balls in earnest and a return at the Cincinnati Open, which starts Aug. 13, is set to be the prelude to his U.S. Open title defense.
After missing two majors, the 23-year-old Spaniard had dropped from No. 2 to No. 3, with French Open champion and Wimbledon finalist Alexander Zverev moving above him. But Alcaraz did not play last year’s Canadian Open, while Zverev reached the semifinals, and Zverev’s 2025 points dropping from his ranking means that Alcaraz has returned to world No. 2 without playing.
With the Cincinnati Open draw to be done before the Canadian Open’s 2026 results are applied to the world rankings, Alcaraz would be the No. 2 seed there, in a resumption of the draw symmetry familiar to men’s tennis fans before his injury: Sinner and Alcaraz on opposite sides, waiting for a prospective final meeting.
— James Hansen
🏆 The winners of the week
🎾 ATP:
🏆 Arthur Géa def. Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-4 to win the Los Cabos Open (250) in Los Cabos, Mexico. It is his first ATP Tour title.
🎾 WTA:
🏆 Kristina Liutova (Q) def. Darja Vidmanova 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 to win the Memphis Classic (250) in Memphis, Tenn. It is her first WTA Tour title.
📈📉 On the rise
📈 Arthur Géa moves up 45 places from No. 127 to No. 82, a career high.
📈 Kristina Liutova ascends 103 spots from No. 229 to No. 126, a career high.
📈 Rafael Jódar moves up nine places from No. 24 to No. 15 — also a career high.
📈 Darja Vidmanova rises 20 spots from No. 112 to No. 92.
📅 Coming up
🎾 ATP
📍Montreal: Canadian Open (1,000) featuring Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton.
📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV
🎾 WTA
📍Toronto: Canadian Open (1,000) featuring Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Linda Nosková, Iga Świątek.
📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel
Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men’s and women’s tours continue.