Montreal 2026 - Masters 1000 Preview

This is my Preview of the Masters 1000 of Montreal (Omnium Banque Nationale Presente par Rogers).

 The events alternate annually between Montreal and Toronto, both on hard, but each with different playing surfaces.

Speed Data

Here are the statistics from the last 2 years (2022 and 2024) in Montreal. The tournament was not held in 2020:

• 72.0% of points won on the first serve
• 79.6% of service games held
• 0.54 aces/game
• 0.20 tie-breaks/set

Based on this data, Montreal is played on medium-paced hard courts.

Previous winners

2025 (Toronto): Shelton d. Khachanov

2024 (Montreal) : Popyrin d. Rublev

2023 (Toronto): Sinner d. De Minaur

2022 (Montreal) : Carreño-Busta d. Hurkacz

2021 (Toronto) Medvedev. d. Opelka

 Nadal has won in Montreal 3 times, Murray and Djokovic twice.

Weather

The forecast suggests classic Montreal summer conditions. The first two days are likely to be wet, with periods of rain and possible thunderstorms. From Tuesday onward, it turns warmer and generally drier, although the humidity remains high and there is still a risk of scattered thunderstorms on several afternoons. Daytime temperatures are expected to range between 24–29°C (75–85°F), with overnight lows of 18–21°C (64–70°F). Winds should generally stay light to moderate, so heat and humidity are likely to be a more important factor than wind for playing conditions.

Players' quotes

Zverev, 2024: "I think the balls we are playing with here are incredibly tricky, and I think this is why a lot of the top guys are struggling."

Nishioka, 2024: “I lost in the first round of the Montreal qualifying round. The ball was changed to Wilson US Open last week, but it was still very difficult, just like last year. It was like a stone, and if I hit it with the right timing, the ball didn't fly at all, and my backhand wasn't effective at all. It was even harder on a bouncy court. My arms hurt, so I'm not good with this ball after all.”

Medvedev, 2024 (about the Wilson balls): "They don’t fly. It’s easier for those who can accelerate the balls. This is not my strong point. I play easier when the ball flies, and I direct it myself. It feels very good, I make a lot of winners in training, but this does not change the fact that there are still very strong players on clay. We’ll see how it goes. I will play for myself. Each tournament decides for itself what balls to play with. All balls are completely different. In tennis, the trend over the last five years is that the balls are getting heavier and heavier. I don’t know why. Everyone’s shoulders and elbows hurt, but they are still getting heavier and heavier.”

Sabalenka, 2023: "Especially on this surface, I was really struggling with all her slices. I think I need some time to adjust to this surface. I hope the next match I will play a little bit better, but overall, I'm just happy to get through this tough match. I would say the conditions are little bit tricky. I was practicing in Florida and the bounce was completely different. I remember in US Open and Cincinnati the ball bounces high. Here the ball is not bouncing at all."

Carreño-Busta, 2022: “I feel comfortable on this type of surface, it is not very fast and I can play from the baseline.”

Tsitsipas, 2022: “I felt the courts felt slower than I expected.”

Pegula, 2023: "It the first time we are starting with the WIlson US Open balls all the way through to he US Open. We didn't have these balls in Washington so everyone is still getting used to them and kind of adjusting their tension. It will be interesting also with the weather and how the courts are playing." 

Summary

Medium-paced conditions. The difference between playing during the day or night is significant. At night, conditions are much slower.

Watch out for the Wilson balls: they are very hard and many players are not comfortable with them, introducing an additional factor of uncertainty.

Underdogs have done it very well here in the past.

Draws

Here’s the link to the tournament draw, which you can check for updates at any time:

• Main draw: https://www.protennislive.com/posting/2026/421/mds.pdf
• Qualifying Draw: https://www.protennislive.com/posting/2026/421/mds.pdf