US Open 2021: Which Canadians are playing, schedule, how to watch in Canada

The weather is sweltering in New York City, which means only one thing: the final Grand Slam of 2021, the U.S. Open, is here. Beginning Aug. 30, more than 300 members of tennis' elite will hit the hard courts of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with their eye on one of the sport's most coveted trophies.

Unfortunately, a number of big names are missing from both singles brackets, including Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Canada's Milos Raonic (calf) and Sharon Fichman (shoulder) and defending men's champion Dominic Thiem. However, there are still plenty of stars still competing, including world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who is one U.S. Open trophy away from completing the first calendar Grand Slam in 33 years.

Canada is sending a strong contingent to New York with seven players set to win one of tennis' most prestigious tournaments. Play runs through the women's final on Sept. 11 and the men's final on Sept. 12. The only question is: How often will "O Canada" ring out through the hallowed grounds in Queens over the next two weeks?

Here's everything you need to know about how to watch the Canadians competing at the U.S. Open in 2021.

Which Canadians are competing at the 2021 US Open?

Félix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil will compete in men's singles. On the women's side, Leylah Annie Fernandez, Bianca Andreescu and Rebecca Marino will compete in singles. Gabriela Dabrowski is competing in doubles.

It has been two years since Andreescu won the U.S. Open, and it has been a tumultuous time since her victory. After injuring her knee at the 2019 WTA Finals and then missing all of 2020, Andreescu returned to the court in January for the Australian Open, where she lost in the second round. She then reached the semifinals of the Phillip Island Trophy, was forced to retire in the final of the Miami Open (foot), missed the Milan Open because of a positive COVID-19 test and withdrew from the Italian Open because she would have had to quarantine. Her struggles continued with Roland Garros (first round), Wimbledon (first round), the National Bank Open (lost second match) and Cincinnati (lost first match). 

But now the top-ranked Canadian is back on the stage where she produced her — and Canada's — biggest moment. She'll kick off the 2021 Open with her first meeting against 45th-ranked Viktorija Golubic. The Swiss player is coming off a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon but has never advanced beyond the first round in New York. Looming in the semifinals for the Mississauga, Ont., native is No. 1 Ash Barty, but Andreescu will have to get past the (expected) likes of Jelena Ostapenko, Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova.

In the bottom half of the bracket is Fernandez, who defeated Golubic in Mexico in March to win her first title. At the U.S. Open, she will go up against qualifier Ana Konjuh. They faced off in the first round of 2021 Madrid Open qualifying with the Croatian winning in three sets. The Laval, Que., native could see 31st-ranked Yulia Putintseva in the second round before going up against Naomi Osaka in the third. 

Rounding out the women competing in singles is Marino, who enters the main draw after storming through qualifying. It marks her first appearance in Flushing in 10 years. A native of Vancouver, the 30-year-old retired in 2013 due to depression and returned in 2018. The U.S. Open is her second main draw this year (Australian Open) and the ninth Grand Slam main draw of her career.

On the men's side, top-ranked Canadian Shapovalov didn't have a great start to his hard-court season after losing his first matches at Gstaad and the National Bank Open. However, he went on a tear in the last major before losing in the semifinals of The Championships to Novak Djokovic. Hailing from Richmond Hill, Ont., Shapovalov faces 47th-ranked Federico Delbonis in the first round before a possible rematch against Karen Khachanov in the third. The pair last met in the quarters at Wimbledon in July, with Shapovalov winning in five sets. Shapovalov advanced all the way to the quarterfinals at last year's U.S. Open before losing to Pablo Carreno Busta, whom he could see in the fourth round this year. And, of course, he's also in the same bracket at Djokovic. 

Montrealer Auger-Aliassime, seeded 12th, also enters the Grand Slam event after strong play at Wimbledon. Auger-Aliassime lost in the quarterfinals to Matteo Berrettini. He has had a rough go on the hard courts since then, however; he lost in the first round in Tokyo, his second match in Washington, D.C., and his first match in Toronto. He does enter the tournament off a quarterfinal appearance in Cincinnati. In the first round in New York, he will face qualifier Evgeny Donskoy. On the horizon is Feliciano Lopez (second round), Roberto Bautista Agut (third round) and Andrey Rublev (fourth round).

Pospisil has struggled of late: he lost in qualifying for Cincinnati and the first round in Toronto. The Vernon, B.C., native had a good run at last year's U.S. Open, advancing to the Round of 16. He faces the No. 28 seed Fabio Fognini in the first round; Pospisil holds a 2-0 record over the Italian. In the second round, it could be a Battle of North America against Tennys Sandgren ahead of a possible meeting with No. 6 seed Matteo Berrettini. 

When are the matches involving Canadians at 2021 US Open?

(All times are Eastern and subject to change. Canadian players in bold. )

What TV channel, live stream is 2021 US Open on in Canada?

The US Open is available in Canada on TSN.

Viewers can watch online with TSN.ca, the TSN App and TSN Direct.