The Canadian Open is one of the oldest tennis tournaments, with the first women’s edition held in 1892, making it a cornerstone event in women’s tennis. Today, it’s part of the North American hard-court swing in August-September, alternating between Montreal and Toronto for the men’s and women’s tournaments. Historically, it was played on clay, with the first Open Era event in 1968 seeing American Jane Bartkowicz defeat Canadian Faye Urban. Urban then won the title the following year, becoming the first to win on home soil in the Open Era.
The tournament has seen multiple winners, including legends like Steffi Graf and Serena Williams, though none of them achieved consecutive titles. Notable players such as Graf (2), Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (2), Williams (3), and Simona Halep (3) have won multiple titles but missed out on back-to-back victories.
Jessica Pegula, the defending champion, won the 2023 title with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 win over Liudmila Samsonova, claiming her second WTA 1000 title.
The 6 Women to Defend Their Canadian Open Titles:
Evonne Goolagong Cawley – 1972 and 1973
Australian legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley won her Canadian Open titles consecutively in the early ’70s. She defeated Great Britain’s Virginia Wade 6–3, 6–1 in 1972 for her eighth title of the year and followed up with a win over Helga Niessen Masthoff in 1973.
Regina Marsikova – 1977 and 1978
Czech player Regina Marsikova won 11 titles in her career, including back-to-back victories in Canada. She claimed her first-ever WTA title on clay in Toronto in 1977 by beating South African Marise Kruger, and defended it in 1978 by defeating Virginia Ruzici from Romania.
Martina Navratilova – 1982 and 1983
The great Martina Navratilova won three Canadian Open titles, two of them back-to-back. In 1982, she beat Andrea Jaeger, and in 1983, she triumphed over her rival Chris Evert. She secured her third title in 1989.
Chris Evert – 1984 and 1985
Chris Evert won her first Canadian Open title in 1974 and her second in 1980. She then won back-to-back titles in 1984 and 1985, defeating Alycia Moulton and Claudia Kohde-Kilsch in the respective finals.
Monica Seles – 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
Monica Seles dominated the Canadian Open, winning four consecutive titles from 1995 to 1998. After finishing as runner-up in 1992, she defeated Amanda Coetzer in 1995, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in 1996 and 1998, and Anke Huber in 1997.
Martina Hingis – 1999 and 2000
Martina Hingis took over from Monica Seles, denying her a fifth consecutive title in 1999 by defeating her in the final 6–4, 6–4. The following year, Hingis won the title again, this time against Serena Williams, who retired from the match with the score at 0–6, 6–3, 3–0.