Avery Perri

Eugenie Bouchard takes the stage at the National Bank Open with retirement on the horizon.

The pre-match narrative: Bouchard has only played five times in the last two years and will wrap up her career at this event in her hometown of Montreal. The 31-year-old Canadian is a sizeable underdog against Colombian Emiliana Arango in the opening round.

Check out our Bouchard vs. Arango odds and my best bet for the July 28 tennis match.

Bouchard vs. Arango odds

Full National Bank Open betting markets

Bouchard vs. Arango odds as of 11:00 a.m. on 07/28/2025.

Best women’s tennis pick

Best bet: Arango -1.5 sets (-121)

There was a point when Bouchard was the best thing going in Canadian tennis, reaching the Wimbledon final in 2014 and the semis in the French Open and Australian Open in the same year.

But that was a long time ago.

A shoulder injury in 2021 put Bouchard out of commission for 17 months, and she hasn’t quite been the same since.

• 2022 record: 6-9
• 2023 record: 11-12
• 2024 record: 2-2

Bouchard has been out of the game for a while, turning to professional pickleball instead. She lost her only tennis match in 2025 in straight sets to Anna Sinclair Rogers earlier this month.

Arango isn’t a great player by any means. But at least she’s been active.

The Colombian has a middling 19-16 record this year, but that includes a stellar 13-4 record on hard courts. She made a finals appearance at the Merida Open in March.

Arango had a tough transition to clay and lost four straight matches on grass, but a return to hard against an opponent with little to no professional reps in the last two years should get her back in the win column.

Key stat: Bouchard’s 53.04% win rate on hard courts is her worst of any outdoor surface.

The National Bank Open returns, with Toronto hosting the ATP event and Montreal hosting the WTA event in 2025.

The latest: This year’s draw is thin at the top, especially on the men’s side. Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are among the talent missing, meaning the ATP event is wide open. Iga Swiatek, fresh off a Wimbledon title, is a frontrunner on the women’s side with Aryna Sabalenka absent.

Check out our latest 2025 National Bank Open odds as of July 27.

National Bank Open odds

Click odds to add selection to betslip. Note: Lines have changed/market no longer available if grey.

Full National Bank Open betting markets

National Bank Open odds as of 10:00 a.m. ET on 07/28/2025.

Men’s National Bank Open notes

• No. 1 Sinner, No. 2 Alcaraz and No. 6 Djokovic have won each of the last 13 grand slams, with the Italian and Spaniard taking the past seven. With that said, it’s fair for Canadian tennis fans to be disappointed that none of them are playing. Jack Draper and Tommy Paul are other notable absentees.

• But how about the players in the draw? Alexander Zverev is the top seed, with Taylor Fritz at No. 2. Zverev is in tough form by his standards, bowing out of Wimbledon in the first round and winning just one ATP title this year (BMW Munich in April).

• Fritz beat Zverev in the Boss Open final to claim his second of three ATP titles this year. He also enjoyed a career-best run at Wimbledon, advancing to the semifinal before losing to Alcaraz.

• One player to keep an eye on is Alex de Minaur, who won the Citi DC Open final on Sunday. Like all seeded players, the nine-time ATP winner has a bye to the Round of 64. Will that be enough to offset fatigue?

• Daniil Medvedev is searching for his first ATP title of the season and enters in shaky form. He was ousted in the first round at Wimbledon and lost to unseeded Corentin Moutet in DC.

Canadian men’s odds

• This is the first time Canada has had three seeded men in the tournament.

• No. 21 Felix Auger-Aliassime leads the way. FAA has a 14-6 record on hard courts this year and has a favourable draw with Ben Shelton being the toughest opponent in his quadrant.

• Denis Shapovalov had a strong start to the season, besting Fritz, Tommy Paul and Casper Ruud en route to winning the Dallas Open. After a few tough months, he returned to the winner’s circle, capturing the Los Cabos 250 event in July.

• Gabriel Diallo (+6,600) is having a nice rookie season on the ATP Tour, winning the Libema Open 250 event in June. But he’s struggled to beat top-end opponents, losing to both Frtiz and Shelton this month.

Women’s NBO betting notes

• Top-seeded Coco Gauff headlines the women’s draw with Swiatek right behind. The American and Polish stars just won the French Open and Wimbledon, respectively, and are at the top of their games.

• Last year’s winner, Jessica Pegula, is the third seed. The American is 35-14 this year with a 20-7 record on hardcourts.

Canadian women’s odds

• Leylah Fernandez enters this event on a high … but is that a good thing? The Canadian just won the Citi DC Open, having played north of eight hours of tennis in the four days leading up to this event. She doesn’t have a bye and will be right back at it on Monday morning.

• Bianca Andreescu (+9,000) suffered another injury scare during match point of her opening-round win on Sunday, but fought through it to advance to the Round of 64. The former champion hasn’t played a full season since 2019, when she won this event and the US Open, and is 9-8 this year.

• Genie Bouchard bids her farewell to professional tennis where it all began, in her hometown of Montreal. The Canadian is an underdog to advance past the opening round, but she’ll surely draw a big crowd in her retirement tour.

Canadian Leylah Fernandez seeks her fourth WTA title in the Citi DC Open final on Sunday.

The latest: Fernandez won a monster three-set game against Elena Rybakina on Saturday, and is a slight underdog against Anna Kalinskaya. On the men’s side, Alex de Minaur is favoured over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who seeks his first ATP title.

Check out my top Citi Open predictions for the July 27 finals.

Citi predictions: Men’s final

Best bet: de Minaur -3.5 games (-107)

Davidovich has been playing spectacular tennis lately, ousting a pair of big-name Americans en route to the final.

He took down Taylor Fritz, the ATP No. 4-ranked player, in a three-set thriller before bouncing Ben Shelton (No. 8 ranked) in straight sets.

It might seem like a simple play, then, to pick the Spaniard, who owns a 61.36% record on hard courts in his career.

But Davidovich is 0-3 in finals matches and has failed to cover a +3.5 game spread each time. Now he has to go up against a red-hot de Minaur, who has won nine career titles and will be under far less pressure.

• de Minaur is 16-5 on hard courts this year.

• His 67.79% career record on hard courts is his best of any outdoor surface.

• The 26-year-old has only dropped one set en route to making the final in Washington.

de Minaur has an elite return game that should help him break Davodovich’s often inconsistent first serve. I expect the Australian to nab title No. 10 on Sunday.

Key stat: de Minaur is 2-0 against Davidovich on hard courts, covering this spread in both matches.

Full Citi Open betting markets

Fernandez vs. Kalinskaya best bet

Kalinskaya to win (-141): Fatigue is bound to set in for Fernandez sooner rather than later.

The Canadian just played in a three-set match against Rybakina that lasted over three hours. Every set went to a tiebreak, and Fernandez gritted her way to a victory.

• Fernandez has played 7 hours, 49 minutes of tennis in the last three days, with a pair of three-set wins.

• In the same span, Kalinskaya had played 3 hours, 25 minutes, winning each of her matches in straight sets.

Fernandez has had to get through tougher competition to this point, but Kalinskaya will be fresh and is certainly feeling confident after smashing Emma Raducanu in the semis.

The Russian also plays her best tennis on hard courts, so I’m not expecting Fernandez to have a massive surface advantage.

Citi Open predictions made at 10:30 a.m. on 07/27/2025.