Coco Gauff has lived a rollercoaster in the past two months. She soared high in June, clinching her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros by defeating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. But the grass season brought her crashing down, with a shocking first-round exit at Wimbledon. Now, the American star is back where she thrives: on the hardcourts. Gauff heads into the WTA 1000 Canadian Open in Montreal as the top seed, hoping to shake off the sting of London and build momentum on home soil ahead of the US Open. So let’s see what her draw looks like!

The Montreal Open runs from July 27 to August 7 and features a stacked 96-player draw. Interestingly, five of the top eight seeds are American players, underscoring their dominance this summer. With Sabalenka, along with two other top-10 names, withdrawing, Coco Gauff stands as the highest-ranked player in the field. But she’s far from alone in the hunt. Iga Swiatek arrives with serious momentum after lifting the Wimbledon trophy, while two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula is eyeing a third straight title in Canada. Several other American players also enter with firepower. Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys, and Emma Navarro are seeded and hungry, eager to make a deep push on home turf with Flushing Meadows in sight.

As for Coco Gauff’s path, the draw hasn’t done her many favors. The 21-year-old is expected to face fellow American Danielle Collins in the second round. Collins, the current World No. 61, will first play a qualifier. But if she wins, her clash with Gauff will be their first-ever meeting, and Collins is no easy hurdle.

Assuming Gauff makes it through, things stay complicated. Serbia’s Olga Danilovic or the big-hitting Veronica Kudermetova could await in the third round. Gauff has a 2-1 head-to-head record against Kudermetova, while she’s never been tested against Danilovic before.

The road doesn’t get smoother in the fourth round. Names like Diana Shnaider, Canadian youngster Victoria Mboko, or former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin are all possible matchups. Looking a bit further, a quarterfinal battle could pit her against 7th seed Jasmine Paolini. Their rivalry is split at 2-2, though Paolini took their last clash in Rome. But that was on clay and in Italy. This time, it’s Gauff’s turn to have the home crowd behind her.

From the semifinals onward, the fire only intensifies. The 2-time Grand Slam champion could run into rising star Mirra Andreeva, in-form American Emma Navarro, or former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

And if she goes all the way? A blockbuster final could await. Coco Gauff versus Iga Swiatek is a growing rivalry, with Swiatek leading 11-4 in head-to-head. Still, Gauff has won their last three encounters, slowly tilting the balance in her favor. Jessica Pegula remains another threat. She’s the two-time defending champion in Montreal and thrives on this surface, having reached the finals in both Cincinnati and the US Open last year. Also in the mix are Amanda Anisimova, fresh off a Wimbledon final, and Madison Keys, this year’s Australian Open champion. All have enough firepower to shake up the final weekend.

But for Gauff, there’s more at stake than just the title.

Coco Gauff looks to defend her World No.2 rank as pressure mounts

Coco Gauff currently holds the No. 2 ranking with 7,669 points but has 3,060 points to defend for the rest of the season. That’s nearly 40 percent of her total, putting her in a delicate position as the pressure mounts. One slip could cost her dearly. Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek is rising fast. After that historic 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Anisimova at Wimbledon, she’s jumped from No. 8 to No. 3 in the rankings with 6,813 points. Crucially, she’s defending only 830 points the rest of the year.

So if the 21-year-old stumbles, Swiatek could overtake her quickly; still, Gauff has some breathing room in the short term. Her early exits last year in the hardcourt swing mean she’s not carrying much weight in Montreal, Cincinnati, or even New York. Her real defense comes later, with a title in Beijing, a semifinal in Wuhan, and her WTA Finals crown making up 2,300 of her points.

Sabalenka, the current World No. 1 with 12,420 points, leads by a wide margin. But she also has the heaviest load to carry: 5,025 points to defend this fall. Even if she lost everything, she would still hold 7,395 points—just ahead of Gauff. That makes Sabalenka the clear favorite to end the year on top. So the real battle could be between Gauff and Swiatek for the No. 2 spot.

But if there’s one thing the American has proven, it’s that she knows how to bounce back. The stage is set. Will Coco Gauff rise again on home soil or get caught in the shuffle?