Ash Barty hits a backhand to Elise Mertens during their women's singles match at the Sydney International on Jan. 10, 2019.Rick Rycroft/The Associated Press
Rafael Nadal is the top seed for the coming men’s Rogers Cup tennis tournament in Montreal, while Ashleigh Barty is the top seed for the women’s event in Toronto.
Tennis Canada announced the names of the top seeds Monday based on the latest ATP and WTA tour rankings.
Nadal, ranked No. 2 in the world by ATP, gets the top seed in Montreal after world No. 1 Novak Djokovic announced his withdrawal from the tournament last week. Nadal is a four-time Rogers Cup champion and won the tournament in Toronto last year.
No. 4 Dominic Thiem of Austria will be the tournament’s second seed, as Roger Federer withdrew from the event shortly after losing to Djokovic in the Wimbledon final earlier this month.
Barty will be competing in her second tournament as the world No. 1. The Australian moved up to the top spot in the rankings after a breakthrough first half of the year, which saw her capture her first Grand Slam title at the French Open as well as a championship at the Miami Open.
She reached the Rogers Cup quarter-finals last year in Montreal and won the women’s doubles title with Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands.
The top three in Toronto will be rounded out by Naomi Osaka of Japan and Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.
The main draw in each event starts on Aug. 5.