Canada’s Denis Shapovalov retires in first round of National Bank Open
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MONTREAL – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is out of the National Bank Open after retiring from his first-round match Tuesday.
The 27-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., withdrew while trailing American Zachary Svajda 3-0 in the third set at IGA Stadium.
Shapovalov appeared in control early, taking the opening set 6-4 with an ace on set point. But he seemed to injure himself while serving late in the second set, which he lost 6-4.
The world No. 43 winced in pain and took an off-court medical timeout. He returned after roughly 10 minutes, but his movement was noticeably limited before he retired.
Svajda, ranked 87th in the world, advances to face 18th-seeded Arthur Fils of France in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
Shapovalov arrived here late Sunday after failing to defend his title at the ATP 250 event in Los Cabos, Mexico, where he lost to Arthur Géa in Saturday’s final.
He spoke Monday about struggling physically this season with a rib fracture and shoulder injury, tempering expectations for the Canadian Open.
Shapovalov first made a name for himself on the professional tour with a memorable breakout in Montreal in 2017, when the then-18-year-old stunned top-seeded Spanish legend Rafael Nadal en route to a semifinals berth.
The stylish, free-swinging talent — then sporting a backwards ball cap — cracked the ATP top 10 at 21, but saw his ranking plummet as low as 140th after a serious knee injury derailed his 2023 season and extended into 2024.
Shapovalov hasn’t won a match at the National Bank Open since 2019.
Earlier on Tuesday, Canadian qualifier Duncan Chan exited the National Bank Open with a first-round loss to Thiago Agustin Tirante of Argentina.
Chan, ranked 601st in the world, fell 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (3) in two hours one minute at IGA Stadium after upsetting No. 90 Hugo Gaston of France to qualify for the men’s singles main draw.
The 65th-ranked Tirante will face seventh seed Taylor Fritz of the United States in the second round. Fritz, one of 32 players to receive a first-round bye, won the ATP 500 D.C. Open on Monday.
Chan, a 21-year-old from Markham, Ont., is entering his senior year at Texas Christian University.
Elsewhere, former world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over American qualifier Martin Damm Jr.
Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo was scheduled to face 19th seed Luciano Darderi of Italy in the second round Tuesday evening.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2026.