Canadian Tennis Players Struggle at Montreal Tournament
In a challenging turn of events on the center court in Montreal, Canada’s Gabriel Diallo faced a setback due to a leg injury during his match at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
In a second-round matchup against Italy’s Luciano Darderi, Diallo, after losing the first set, took a brief lead in the second set before being forced to retire from the game due to the apparent injury.
The injury occurred in the fifth game of the second set when Diallo landed awkwardly after delivering a powerful shot against Darderi, causing him to be overwhelmed with emotion as he exited the court in front of his supportive home crowd.
Having struggled with a persistent back injury throughout the season, Diallo, 24, saw a drop in his ranking outside the Top 100 this week, marking the first time since 2024.
As a wild card entry at the National Bank Open, Diallo started his tournament with a hard-fought victory over Kyrian Jacquet on Monday, only to face an unfortunate end to his second-round match.
Alongside Diallo, fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov also had to cut short his match due to an ankle injury, leaving Felix Auger-Aliassime as the remaining hope for Canadian success on their home turf.
The No. 2 seed, Auger-Aliassime, is set to begin his tournament campaign on Wednesday evening against France’s Titouan Droguet, carrying the expectations of Canadian fans for a triumphant performance.
