The 2016 edition of the Rogers Cup marks one of the milestones of each women’s tennis season. After Wimbledon, Europe stages a few clay-court tournaments, and other North American cities play smaller-level (lower-point) hardcourt tournaments. Canada – with Toronto and Montreal rotating each year between the ATP and WTA – marks the place where the big-name women’s players return to action after Wimbledon, pursuing bigger points gains and considerable prize money. There are times during the year when the top players sit out and rest, and there are times when they go hard for all the bigger prizes in tennis. Canada marks the end of a lull and the beginning of another series of weeks in which the most famous and notable players on the tour compete against each other. That’s the attraction of this tournament, with the women playing in Montreal this year and the men in Toronto.
The competition in the 56-player main draw begins on Monday, July 25 in Montreal.
Event Details
Event: WTA Rogers Cup
Category: WTA Premier 5 Level
Date: July 25 – 31, 2016
Location: Uniprix Stadium – Montreal, Quebec, Canada
With an overall financial commitment of over $2.5 million, the WTA half of the Rogers Cup is not the crown jewel of the summer hardcourt season, but a valuable first step on the road to the U.S. Open at the end of August. This is a Premier level tournament, one of two in North America before the U.S. Open. This tournament precedes the Rio Olympic tennis tournament in Brazil, so it’s going to be a little less predictable, in all likelihood, than the tournaments to come. When the Olympics are over, it’s probable that all the big names will participate in the Cincinnati WTA and ATP tournaments, leading to a more top-heavy result. However, with the Olympics just around the corner, this tournament could feel like more of a distraction. It also arrives just two weeks after the end of Wimbledon, whereas in a normal tennis year, it would be a four-week break between the end of Wimbledon and the start of the Rogers Cup. It could be a very weird week in French Canada.
The points structure under the WTA system is that the championship means 900 points. A runner-up finish is worth 585. A semifinal result is 350 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 190 points. A round-of-16 results provides 105 points, a round-of-32 showing 60 points.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Belinda Bencic def. Simona Halep – 7-6, 6-7, 3-0 (retired)
2014 – Agnieszka Radwanska def. Venus Williams – 6-4, 6-2
2013 – Serena Williams def. Sorana Cirstea – 6-2, 6-0
2012 – Petra Kvitova def. Li Na – 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
2011 – Serena Williams def. Samantha Stosur – 6-4, 6-2
Player Info:
Serena Williams, the top seed in Montreal, knows the Olympics are coming up, but she is playing in Canada, anyway. Carla Suarez Navarro (No. 8) is the highest seed in her quarter of the draw. That’s a pretty easy draw for In the second quarter of the draw, Agnieszka Radwanska (No. 4) and Venus Williams (No. 6) are paired together. It’ll be interesting to see what Venus does here as she had been having a lousy season until she got to Wimbledon. Will she keep it up or will she fade back to how she was? This could be a rematch of the 2014 championship final in Montreal, won by Radwanska.
In the bottom half of the draw, Simona Halep (5) and Garbine Muguruza (3) are the highest-seeded players. In the fourth and final quarter of the draw, Angelique Kerber is the No. 2 seed. The highest seed in her quarter is Roberta Vinci. If things go according to plan – and they rarely do on the women’s side – Kerber should meet Williams in the final. Those two have arguably been the strongest on the Tour this year.
Uniprix Stadium
Uniprix Stadium is an 11,700-seat center court which is part of a 12-court hardcourt facility in Montreal. The stadium has hosted this event for decades as an open-air venue. In recent years, there have been problems with the lighting and electrical power at the stadium, suggesting that if Tennis Canada and private funders can come up with money, you might see a new facility. Nothing has happened, and nothing is officially in progress, but this is an issue to pay attention to if new problems resurface this particular year.
