Canadians Andreesu, Shapovalov open grass-court season with losses at Libema Open

Bianca Andreescu, of Canada, lunges for the ball during her first round match against Barbora Krejcikova, of the Czech Republic, at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal, Sunday, July 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands — Canadian tennis players Bianca Andreescu and Denis Shapovalov opened their grass-court seasons with losses in first-round action at the Libema Open on Monday.

Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., fell 6-1, 6-3 to third seed Elise Mertens of Belgium in the women’s draw at the 250-level event on the ATP and WTA tours.

Mertens didn’t face a break point and converted four of her seven break points to pick up her first win in three tries against Andreescu, who was playing in the main draw as a wild card.

Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., lost 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-5 to Croatian veteran Marin Cilic.

Cilic improved to 4-3 against Shapovalov in a match where both players struggled to hold serve. Shapovalov was broken by Cilic seven times on 10 chances, while the Croatian conceded five breaks on seven chances.

The grass-court season, the shortest on the tennis calendar at roughly a month, is capped by Wimbledon. The third Grand Slam of the season begins June 29 in London.


This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2026.