TORONTO, July 27, 2026 (Tennis Canada Media Release)
Two domestic professional tournaments took place this week, with champions crowned on Sunday. At the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger presented by MBuilds, 2025 champion Liam Draxl’s title defense came to an end in the final at the hands of No. 2 seed Toby Samuel of Great Britain. On the women’s side, at the Saskatoon Challenger, Teah Chavez emerged victorious in the final over compatriot Ariana Arseneault to earn her first professional title.
Winnipeg National Bank Challenger presented by MBuilds
Draxl entered the tournament unseeded and made his way through the draw upsetting the No. 4, No. 6, and No. 1 seeds to reach the final for the second consecutive year. He squared off against Toby Samuel of Great Britain in the final, ultimately falling in straight sets by a score of 6-4, 6-2.
Championship point, championship performance 😎#ATPChallenger | @the_LTA pic.twitter.com/DvOzr06Ssq
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) July 26, 2026
Tennis Canada announced on Friday that Draxl’s quarter-final victory over France’s Clément Chidekh earned him the points needed to clinch the Road to the NBO competition. The Newmarket, ON native will receive a wild card to the main draw of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers (NBO) in Montreal.
In doubles, an all-American final ended with Daniel Milavsky and Braden Shick beating the duo of Joshua Sheehy and Tyler Zink in a tie break. Both pairs were unseeded.
Saskatoon Challenger (WTT W35)
With Canucks on both sides of the net, a Canadian champion was guaranteed in the singles final. After dropping the opening set, Saskatchewan’s own Teah Chavez rallied to beat No. 4 seed Ariana Arseneault (Richmond Hill, ON) by a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. The win earned the Regina native her first professional
title.
Chavez and Arseneault will now turn their attention to the Odlum Brown VanOpen (WTA 125) where they’ll enter the main draw in the tournament’s first edition since 2022. Pairing up with Scarlett Nicholson (Toronto, ON), Chavez also reached the doubles final, adding to her hardware for the week. The Canadians came out as runners-up, falling to Americans Alyssa Ahn and Kaya Moe by a score of 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 in the championship match.
