Canada's Draxl in peak form ahead of National Bank Open debut

Liam Draxl is beginning to put it all together ahead of his first main-draw appearance in singles play at an ATP tour-level tournament.

The Newmarket, Ontario, native enters the National Bank Open in Toronto ranked a career-high 115th in the world.

Draxl recently captured the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger to clinch a main-draw wild card into the Masters 1000 event as the "Road to the NBO" champion. He earned the coveted spot for accumulating the most ranking points among his compatriots at the Canadian-based competitions that preceded the nation's premier tennis tournament.

"It's unreal," Draxl told theScore of competing at the event he frequently attended as a kid. "It's great to play in Toronto. A true home crowd. I'm just super pumped.

"I've been slugging it out on the Challenger Tour a lot this year, so it's gonna be nice just to get a crack to play up a (level)."

Draxl turned pro in June 2023 following a standout career at the University of Kentucky, where he became the NCAA's No. 1 men's singles player as a sophomore and a three-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American.

The 23-year-old has spent most of his pro career on the second-tier Challenger circuit and third-tier ITF World Tennis Tour. Draxl finished his senior year with the Wildcats as the nation's 11th-ranked singles player, which allowed him to receive a maximum of eight qualifying spots for select Challenger events over the next 12 months as part of the ATP/ITA Accelerator Programme.

The collaborative program was established two years ago and has served as a launching pad for top collegiate players transitioning to the pros, including American star Ben Shelton. It's allowed Draxl entry into Challenger tournaments that he would've otherwise been unable to compete in.

"It's a huge help," he told theScore. "It's a good opportunity to just get points and hopefully accelerate your ranking a little bit ... It's such a grind starting out in the (ITF) Futures (tournaments). Not a lot of (prize) money. You're paying for your hotel. There's not a lot of (ranking) points on the line.

"But in Challengers, at least you're getting your hotel covered and you're playing for good points, especially when you're starting from scratch off college."

Draxl climbed up the ATP rankings over the next two years, relying on his speed and counter-punching style of play. The 6-foot-1 righty wears his heart on his sleeve and doesn't mind engaging in extended rallies from the baseline. That style helped him take home a pair of ITF titles and his first Challenger crown during his rookie year.

While Draxl dropped his lone Challenger final in 2024, he added three more ITF championships to his trophy cabinet during the latter stages of the campaign. He parlayed that positive momentum into a breakout 2025 season, posting a 39-13 mark and an ATP single-year record seven Challenger final appearances.

The grind through the lower-level ITF and Challenger Tour hasn't always been easy, but Draxl says it's helped build mental fortitude.

"Tennis is a tough sport," Draxl told theScore. "There's just so much losing. ... You just gotta keep trusting the process and keep fighting. Not giving up. Not getting too down on yourself when the results aren't going your way, and keep trying to get better every day.

"I try to compete as hard as I can every point. The results will eventually come. So I think it's just kind of trying to learn your lessons from the losses, and trying to apply what you did wrong in the last tournament into the new week."

Draxl lost his first five Challenger finals this season before finally breaking through in Winnipeg a few weeks ago, avenging a championship defeat in January to former World junior No. 1 Alexander Blockx.

The Canadian admits that his inability to get over the hump planted some seeds of doubt, but he entered his rematch against Blockx with a clearer mind.

"I've lost five (finals) already. So why be nervous? ... In a way, I tricked my brain as if I had nothing to lose," Draxl told theScore. "The worst possible outcome is what I've had. So I was like, 'Whatever, man. Just go for it.'

He's taking the same energy into his opening-round match against Spanish veteran Pablo Carreno Busta. He's looking to enjoy the moment on home soil and isn't putting much pressure on himself.

A maiden Masters 1000 main-draw victory would be a significant step toward his goal of cracking the ATP's top 100 by season's end and put him in position to secure a spot in the main draw of next year's Australian Open. But to get that desired result, Draxl knows he can't lose sight of the process that's got him to this point.

"I'm really not too much of an outcome-type of goal person," Draxl told theScore. "You just gotta focus on the tennis and let all the external factors just happen. Obviously, I want to be top 100. I'm close to that.

"But I gotta focus on my game and what I need to improve for that to happen."