Served 5 Setter: Canada Champs, Cincy Starts
Plus: Jack Draper’s biggest challenge isn’t his arm
Welcome to your weekly 5 Setter! We’re taking a break from the show this week and bringing you five sets of tennis news in print only.
Set 1: Shelton Defends His Canada Title
Ben Shelton beat Brandon Nakashima in the Canadian Open in Montreal yesterday 6-3, 7-6. It is Shelton’s fourth title of the year, the most on the ATP this season after Jannik Sinner, who has six.
It was Nakashima’s first Masters 1000 final. He made more noise than a lot of people expected, first by taking out Rafael Jodar 7-6, 6-4 in the semifinals, then by -- out of nowhere -- taking a swing at Toronto during the trophy ceremony.
🎤 Brandon Nakashima
“I’m going to be honest. I really enjoy it here in Montreal more than Toronto. Unfortunately, we’ll be back in Toronto next year, but I look forward to coming back here in two years.”
The crowd loved it. “Hell of a speech,” Shelton said when he took the mic.
In Nakashima’s press conference, he didn’t walk it back when a reporter asked about the comments. “Honestly, I didn’t know there was that much of a rivalry,” he said before going on to praise Montreal’s organization and fan support specifically. “They’re probably going to hate me next year in Toronto.”
Shelton moved up to No. 6 in the live rankings, and Nakashima hit a career high of No. 22.
Ben Busts a Streak
With his title defense, Shelton snapped a run of four first-time Masters 1000 champs in Canada (himself in 2025, Alexei Popyrin in 2024, Jannik Sinner in 2023 and Pablo Carreno Busta in 2022).
Set 2: Swiatek Back on Track With Toronto Title
In Toronto, Iga Swiatek beat Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 for her first title of the season and first in 11 months. The win moves her up to No. 5 in the live rankings. Her ranking had fallen to No. 8 during her dry spell this year.
Rybakina moved to within 354 points of Aryna Sabalenka, who lost in the fourth round to Ekaterina Alexandrova. Rybakina has a chance to overtake the No. 1 spot for the first time in her career at Cincinnati or the US Open.
Swiatek found her A game in Toronto for the first time since she won the Korea Open last fall. Since then, she split with coach Wim Fissette and began working with Francisco Roig.
Though Swiatek dropped a set early to Marta Kostyuk and had a battle against Elina Svitolina in the semifinals, the rest of her tournament was dominant -- four breadsticks, a bagel, then three breaks of serve against the best server in women’s tennis.
Rybakina gave Swiatek a lot of help, including four double faults and 23 unforced errors. She might have been fatigued after playing four long three-set matches en route to the final.
🎤 Iga Swiatek
“I was really in the zone today. I wanted to make the match physical, to use my topspin and to remember that I have a game that I can control with spin and the curve that the ball has. And in these conditions, also, I have confidence in that.”
Sabalenka Sighting
The world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, still made an appearance yesterday -- not in Toronto, but on the cover of Time magazine. The headline: How Aryna Sabalenka Became the Most Compelling Player in Tennis.
The pre–US Open profile is more of an introduction to the reigning queen of women’s tennis than a revelatory exploration of her drive to reach the top or her title-less run this summer after winning the Sunshine Double in March. It discusses the adversity she has overcome on her way to No. 1, her plans to start a family and one shocker -- she considered quitting in 2022.
Set 3: Osaka Out of Cincinnati
Like last year, Cincinnati got underway yesterday without Naomi Osaka. The 28-year-old withdrew after her quarterfinal loss to Elena Rybakina Tuesday in Toronto. Katerina Siniakova moved into the main draw in Osaka’s spot.
Osaka cited fatigue as the reason for her withdrawal. She hasn’t played the tournament since 2022 and has just one main-draw win since she made the final in 2020 (she withdrew from the match with an injury).
Osaka joins Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Karolina Muchova, Jasmine Paolini and Victoria Mboko on the sidelines. Frances Tiafoe had surgery to remove a cyst on his hand six days ago, but is still in the draw as the No. 17 seed.
First-round action continues today in Cincinnati. The finals will be on Sunday, August 23.
Set 4: McNally’s New Coach
Staying in Cincinnati for Set 3, one of the hometown favorites, Caty McNally, is shining at the right time under new coach Kathy Rinaldi, the former USTA Head of Women’s Tennis. Rinaldi took over from McNally’s mother as her primary coach in the grass-court season.
The partnership is already paying dividends. McNally upset Wimbledon champ Linda Noskova in Toronto, then played one of the best matches of the tournament against Alex Eala, who won 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
McNally is finding her form after surgeries kept her off the tour for much of the last two years. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 50 in June, though she currently sits at No. 70. In Cincinnati, she upset No. 48 McCartney Kessler 6-3, 6-4 in the first round in a match that ended at 1 a.m. today. Last year, she lost to Kessler in the second round. She plays Anna Kalinskaya next.
Set 5: Draper Talks About His Mental Toll
Set 5 keeps us in Cincinnati, where Jack Draper revealed another dimension to his comeback and the reason he has appeared distraught at his last two losses.
More than the chronic elbow injury he suffered last summer, the mental strain is wearing on him as he tries to find any form -- not just the level that took him to No. 4 in the world in June 2025. He is now down to No. 143.
Though he made a semifinal run on the grass at Eastbourne before Wimbledon, he hasn’t won a match since then. He withdrew from Wimbledon and Washington, D.C., and lost his first-round matches in Canada and Cincinnati. Martin Landluce beat him yesterday in Cincinnati 6-3, 7-5, coming back from 2-5 in the second set.
Afterward, The Athletic wrote that Draper is “facing overwhelming doubts about the task that lies in front of him to overcome a chronic injury in his playing arm and climb back up the tennis mountain.”
Jack Draper in Cincinnati
“The level of my fall almost from where I was last year and the amount of things that I’m having to change in my tennis. … The mountain seems very, very big.”
The Athletic has more on the story, including Draper’s expectations for playing the US Open.
Quick Hits
J.J. Wolf and Carol Young Suh Lee won the USTA Wild Card Challenge over a summer series of tournaments for a spot in the US Open main draw.
Canada doubles winners: Katerina Siniakova and Zhang Shuai in Toronto, Rafael Matos and Orlando Luz in Montreal.
Rafael Jodar has 69 more days to break Boris Becker’s record for the fastest rise from the Top 100 to the Top 10. Becker did it in 210 days, and after his Montreal semi, Jodar sits 699 points back from No. 10 after 140 days.
Alexander Zverev threw a pizza party in Cincinnati ⬇️
Cincinnati Open@CincyTennisThe best kind of surprise 🎉🍕 After a late night qualifying finish, our 2021 champion Alexander Zverev treated our hardworking ball crew to a well-deserved pizza party. A big thanks to @AlexZverev 🫶 #CincyTennis
2:25 PM · Aug 13, 2026 · 63.4K Views25 Replies · 43 Reposts · 812 Likes
The Weekend Draw
ATP 1000/WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open
Fri., Aug. 14: 1st round
Sat., Aug. 15: 2nd round
Sun., Aug. 16: 2nd round
Q&Andy Recap
Why is Alex Eala’s soft second serve effective, and why did Andy once jump on the back of a police motorcycle in Peru? This week’s questions set a new high-water mark.
📮Submit a question by emailing askandy@servedmediagroup.com or send it through our website or social media.
Love All Recap
Kim and Blair break down Aryna Sabalenka’s recent struggles, Cincinnati’s wide-open draw, the pressures of being World No. 1 and what separates the best returners in tennis.
Tiebreak Trivia
In Montreal, all four semifinalists (Rafael Jodar, Brandon Nakashima, Ben Shelton and Learner Tien) played college tennis in the United States. Who is the only one to win a national championship?
Go to the trivia archive for the answer.
📝 We’ll be back Tuesday with a new episode. In the meantime, join us on Substack during the weekend’s matches.
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