Served 5 Setter: Canada Carnage

Plus: The WTA and IMG team up.

Megan Fernandez

Aug 07, 2026

Welcome to your weekly 5 Setter, an express roundup of all things racket sports with Techy Sean. In this episode:

All the upsets in Montreal
US Open mixed-doubles list grows
Alcaraz out of Cincinnati
WTA signs IMG as its broadcast partner
Premier Padel plants its flag in London
Tiebreak Trivia

Click below to watch today’s 5 Setter on YouTube, and come back here for this week’s bonus stories.

The latest stories that matter right now

Sentimental Upsets in Montreal

Today’s show leads off with the decimated Top 10 at the ATP’s Canadian Open in Montreal. Defending champion Ben Shelton is the only Top 10 player left standing. He plays Zizou Bergs today.

Farther down the rankings, a few other losses hit hard.

Monfils Signs Off

In a quadruple whammy, the tournament lost Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime, Gabriel Diallo and Denis Shapovalov to injuries, then Montreal fan favorite Gaël Monfils fell in the second round to Learner Tien. It was Monfils’s last match in Canada before he retires at the end of the season. The 39-year-old found some magic and dropped a bagel on Tien before losing in three sets. Then Tien did something he said he had never done before -- he asked for an autograph.

The 20-year-old Tien was born four months after Monfils won his first title. After the match, he wrote “Legend” on the camera lens and asked Monfils to sign a tennis ball. See the moment here.

The love fest continued on Instagram, where Monfils posted, “Congratulations to @learnertien. He was the better man, and he’s got a big, big future ahead of him.” Tien commented, “grateful to share the court with you ❤️.”

Jack’s Not Quite Back

The good news for 24-year-old Jack Draper, plagued by an arm injury for the last 12 months, is that he made it onto court for the first time since June 26 and completed a two-hour match. The bad news is that he lost 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 to Terence Atmane and cried through changeover toward the end as his forehand and serve lost power. But he hit the practice court the next day, a good sign for his recovery. He has accepted a wild card into Cincinnati.

Tiafoe Hurt

Frances Tiafoe retired from his third-round match against Arthur Rinderknech with a wrist injury he picked up last week at the DC Open. Rinderknech was leading 6-2, 2-0 when Tiafoe pulled the plug. Tiafoe had a first-round bye and won his second-round match against Marin Cilic.

📝 Racket-clap to journalist Bastien Fachan for this pull: 17 years ago, the ATP’s top eight made the quarterfinals in Montreal. This year, none of them did.

Canadian Cross Wins First WTA Tour Match at Home

The home team went 3-for-12 in the first round of the Canadian Open. Amid all the heartbreak was one heartwarming story. Kayla Cross, a 21-year-old wild card entry, got her first win on the WTA Tour level by beating Katie Boulter 7-6, 7-5 in Toronto

Cross is from London, Ontario, a couple of hours from the tournament site. She plays college tennis at Louisiana State University and has played Billie Jean King Cup for Canada. She has won three ITF titles, most recently last month, bumping her ranking to a career-high No. 168. But a win on the WTA Tour had eluded her until this week, in her backyard.

Giddy after the match, she told the crowd, “I don’t even know what to say right now. I’m just really happy to get the win in front of all you guys. You guys helped me so much throughout this whole match.”

Cross lost in the second round to No. Ann Li, 7-6, 6-3. She’s still in the doubles draw with partner Bianca Andreescu. If she returns to LSU to play her junior year, she won’t be able to keep most of her $47,000 prize money.

Full US Open Mixed Doubles List

In Set 2, Techy Sean highlights the new partnerships on the US Open mixed doubles entry list and two superstars who are still missing. The entry deadline is August 17. Then the tournament will release 14 teams in the 16-team field, with two spots reserved for qualifiers.

Quick Hits

The 1-Point Slam at the Australian Open (Photo credit: Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

The Australian Open announced the return of the 1-Point Slam in 2027. Prize money is still a mill (ASD). (ESPN)
In Toronto, Marta Kostyuk’s young escort gave her a handwritten note. Absolutely adorable.
The WTA previewed the US Open qualifying entries, including Zheng Qinwen, Bianca Andreescu and Sofia Kenin. And a couple of first-time winners from the summer.
Coco Gauff gave another wise-beyond-her-22-years comment about a culture-war subject, this time the WTA’s mandatory gender-testing policy. The gist: fairness, yes; hate, no. (AP)
“I’m a very big junk-food person,” said Leylah Fernandez in a press conference, while eating a ice cream bar. She copped to it. (Barstool Sports)
Blink and you missed Carlos’s cornrows. ⬇️
José Morgado@josemorgado
Alcaraz's hairstyle lasted 2 days.
9:06 PM · Aug 4, 2026 · 2.21M Views
232 Replies · 269 Reposts · 10.2K Likes

The Weekend Draw

ATP 1000/WTA 1000 Canadian Open

Third round and quarterfinals
Finals: Thursday, August 13

📺 ATP and WTA broadcasters

Q&Andy Recap

Bagels -- both the tennis and breakfast kind -- were the focus of yesterday’s show. How many bagels did he deliver in his career? What’s his bagel-shop order? Check out the episode for both answers. We are loving the video submissions. Keep them coming!

📮Submit a question by emailing askandy@servedmediagroup.com or send it through our website or social media.

Love All Recap

Kim feels for Marketa Vondrousova, who was hit with a four-year suspension for refusing an anti-doping test. She and Blair geek out on the US Open’s mixed doubles possibilities. Plus, a full review of Carlos Alcaraz’s July photo dump.