First Serve – Canadians on the pro tennis tours this week

For the casual fan, the tennis season effectively ends with the final Grand Slam of the season at the US Open.

But the ATP and WTA Tours soldier on for another six weeks. And one of this week's stops on the women's tour is the tournament in Quebec City.

It's an event that has struggled to find the right time slot, but its options are limited given it's an indoor event. Years ago, it was at the beginning of November and competed with other tournaments in Europe in attracting top-20 type players who were trying to make a final push to qualifying for the tour's year-end finals.

The last few years, it has been held the week after the US Open to try to capitalize on players who might still be in North American before heading off to tournaments in Asia. But the field is lacking big names, completely understandable given its current time slot.

As a result, top Canadian Genie Bouchard (whose ranking as of Monday is No. 48) is the top seed in the singles event after the withdrawal of Hungary's Timea Babos. Babos reached the quarter-finals at the US Open, and is at her highest-ever ranking today (No. 26).

The tournament got a boost a year ago when Venus Williams commited to play after enjoying a rare experience in Montreal at the Rogers Cup. And this year, after a three-year absence, they got Bouchard to commit before she heads off to the bigger events in China in a few weeks.

Bouchard had bailed out of a few of these smaller, 250-level tournaments over the last few years – especially as her star rose. But things appear to have settled down now and that's a good thing; her likeness is a huge part of the tournament's promotional campaign, and you'll find lots of buses in Quebec City with her image on their tails.

She got there early, and has done plenty of promo work including meeting Quebec City major Régis Labeaume.

Winning the title there would give the 22-year-old a big boost after her first-round loss at the US Open. Also on hand are wild cards Carol Zhao, Françoise Abanda and Aleksandra Wozniak.

Bouchard, who won't play her first round until Wednesday night, is teaming up for doubles with old training partner Jessica Pegula. Pegula's father owns the Buffalo Sabres and her coach, Michael Joyce, was the longtime coach of Maria Sharapova.

Not all that far away in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Canadian Davis Cup team will face Chile this weekend in a tie it must win to remain in the prestigious 16-nation World Group.

The roster suffered a double blow last week as world No. 6 Milos Raonic declined to participate, citing the effects of the cramping he suffered in his second-round loss in New York more than two weeks ago.

Veteran doubles star Daniel Nestor, who had to retire early in his first-round match with Vasek Pospisil at the US Open, is going to need a month to get healthy again and won't play (although Tennis Canada hasn't yet announced his withdrawal).

That leaves Vasek Pospisil, as he has often done in his career, to carry the load. Also on the squad are Frank Dancevic (who won a $25,000 Futures tournament in Toronto last week without dropping a set) and 17-year-old Davis Cup rookie Denis Shapovalov.

Who the fourth member of the team will be, we shall see. Peter Polansky and Philip Bester, the two players with the most Davis Cup experience, are playing a $50,000 tournament in North Carolina this week and are the No. 2 seeds in doubles as well. Filip Peliwo, next in line, is playing another $25,000 tournament in Toronto. The third-ranked doubles player in Canada, Adil Shamasdin, is with the squad in Halifax but not, so far, nominated to play.

(Bookmark this link to keep up with the results of these and all the other Canadians playing around the world this week)