All is ready, set, go for the October 13 start of the inaugural Calgary National Bank Challenger tournament.  What a way to cap off a great year for tennis in Alberta, with the largest professional tennis tournament ever to be held in the province, and the largest indoor ATP Challenger Tour event in Western Canada.

Hosted by Calgary’s state-of-the-art Osten & Victor Tennis Centre, the $75,000 US prize money and ATP ranking points are sure to inspire spirited competition between some of the older tennis hands and the young bucks in the singles and doubles matches.

Tickets are still available.  Accommodation choices are aplenty.  An impressive roster of players is confirmed.  Daniel Nestor will lead doubles clinics for 3.0-4.0 players (still room available) on October 17.  Vendors will showcase tennis garb and gadgets.   Canadian players will relish the home turf including Alberta’s own Harrison Scott, our top-ranked national player.  The finishing touch will be the fans who will shower (hopefully not snow) Alberta’s tennis spirit over the game-day atmosphere.

Expect a great Canadian and Albertan tennis event in the vibrant, tennis-happy city of Calgary, Alberta.

A great location

The venue is the Osten and Victor Tennis Centre, a world class facility in southeastern Calgary that merits this scale and quality of event (13 courts, surface like the Australian Open, cafe and bistro, pro shop, fitness centre).  Banff National Park is just a 1.5 hour drive away with stunning Rocky Mountains and fall foliage in full bloom.  A variety of accommodation options in southeast Calgary are convenient and affordable (such as The Carriage House Inn and the Delta Calgary South).

Professional tennis, close up and personal   

The player line-up features international stars and top Canadians,  seasoned and NextGen players.  See the 251 kilometer/hour serve of Ivo Karlovic of Croatia (holds the record for second fastest serve in tennis; highest ranking of 14th in the world, current ranking 134), and popular Tommy Robredo of Spain (former top 5 player; defeated Dmitrov in 2017).  Others confirmed are Jordan Thompson (AUS, top seed, currently ranked 106), Donald Young (USA), Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS), and Caspar Ruud (NOR).

Canadians looking for fantastic fan support will be:  Filip Peliwo, Braydon Schnur (we saw him at the Davis Cup in Edmonton in 2017), Frank Dancevic (Davis Cup Captain 2017, 2018), and Steven Diez  (Toronto).

Alberta’s top players are also on the roster:

  • Harrison Scott (Albert Tennis Centre), main draw wildcard.
  • Andrew Ochotta (ATC and University of Calgary), qualifying wild card
  • Shane Nicholls (ATC and U of C), qualifying wild card

Daniel Nestor to be front and center  

Daniel Nestor is the Honorary Tournament Director, an official Tennis Canada duty on the heals of his recent retirement.  He will lead a doubles clinic, a kid’s clinic, the National Bank Pro-Am tennis event (October 14),  SportsNet960 Kidsport Day, and will be honoured on October 19.  His  doubles clinic for 3.0 to 4.0 players still has room available for more players!  Time: October 17th, 10am-12pm: 3.0-3.5 clinic and 3-5pm for 4.0+ clinic.  To book your spot in the clinic with Daniel Nestor contact Danny Da Costa at ddacosta@albertatenniscentre.ca.

Watch Alberta’s best University tennis in a Battle of Alberta 

Watch Davis Cup style tennis on October 20 as The University of Alberta Golden Bears and the University of Calgary Dinos face off in singles and doubles ties.   The University of Alberta Golden Bears tennis team has dominated western university tennis for some time; but the University of Calgary has recently boosted its team with the addition of Andrew Ochotto, a former ATP professional and high-ranking Canadian junior, now leading the U. of C. tennis team as a player-coach.  This gives the competition a new edge as the scholastics begin their 2018-2019 season.

Tennis Garb and Gadgets

The Osten and Victor tennis facility will be a hive of activity with vendor booths, concessions, and beer gardens.  Yonex will have a booth all week and National Bank will be represented as the main sponsor.

Finish the 2018 season with a sure-to-be entertaining tennis weekend in Calgary, October 13-21.  For tickets go to the Calgary National Bank Challenger web site.  To register for the doubles clinic (3.0-4.0+) with Daniel Nestor email ddacosta@albertatenniscentre.ca.

Let’s show the rest of Canada and the pro players from around the world that Alberta has a rockin’ tennis beat.

Contact me with feedback or ideas at:  susan.wells@tennisalberta.com.

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