CALGARY (February 10, 2020) – Today, the Calgary National Bank Challenger announced the official player lineup for its second-annual tennis tournament hosted at the OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre this February. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour’s official player list includes world-class Croatian player Ivo Karlovic and Post Media’s Male Athlete of the Year for 2019 Vasek Pospisil.
The highly-anticipated event will host a star-studded lineup of professionals from around the world, including Dominik Koepfer, currently ranked No. 94 on the ATP Tour. Koepfer advanced to the round of 16 in singles at the 2019 US Open Tennis Championships, just losing to finalist and then-world No. 5, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in four sets. Other notable players competing for ATP rankings include Japan’s Davis Cup team member and former world Top 50 player Go Soeda and NCAA men’s singles 2017 champion Thai-Son Kwiatkowski.
“The Calgary National Bank Challenger is lining up to be an exciting week of world-class tennis where players will bring their A-game to the OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre,” said Danny Da Costa, Tournament Director, Calgary National Bank Challenger. “We are thrilled to host so many well-established, and up-and-coming tennis stars at the second-annual tournament.”
In addition to welcoming international players, the tournament’s roster includes an impressive list of Canadian athletes, including 2019 Davis Cup finalist Brayden Schnur and official tournament wild card selection, Calgary’s Joshua Peck. The tournament will also provide the opportunity for up-and-coming players to demonstrate their skills at the largest indoor professional tennis event in Canada. Players making their Calgary National Bank Challenger debut include former U18 World Junior Champion Brandon Nakashima and Kacper Zuk, both of whom are ranked in the Top 20 on the ATP Next Gen.
Following a successful inaugural event in 2018, selling more than 6,500 tickets and live streaming to 140,000 viewers, the Calgary National Bank Challenger is quickly establishing itself as a leading tournament for tennis players globally.
Ahead of the tournament, the public are encouraged to join tournament organizers at The CORE Shopping Centre (The CORE) from February 10 to 21 to play with tennis professionals, win exciting prizes and buy tickets to the highly anticipated event.
The second-annual Calgary National Bank Challenger will take place February 24 to March 1, 2020 at the OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre. For more information and to purchase tickets visit: www.calgary.nationalbankchallenger.com.
-30-
About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth of tennis in Canada and a vision to become a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier Rogers Cup presented by National Bank WTA and ATP Tour events, 5 professional ATP and ITF sanctioned events and financially supports 4 other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates junior national training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Fed Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information on Tennis Canada please visit our Web site at: www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre
The OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre is one of Canada’s premier tennis facilities and has quickly gained a reputation as one of the best tennis facilities in North America. The community-based, state-of-the-art family friendly tennis facility located just off one of Calgary’s main routes, MacLeod Trail, is located in the heart of Acadia (SE Calgary) and covers 71,000 square feet, over 3.19 acres. The OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre opened in the spring of 2016 to critical acclaim and is championed by local funders with the support of Tennis Canada. The $13 million-dollar, non-profit tennis Centre has quickly established itself as the benchmark for facility design and operation in Canada and won the Tennis Canada Facility Excellence Award (Indoor Facility of the Year) in 2017. The tennis Centre welcomed over 150,000 people in its first year of operation and has introduced the game of tennis to thousands of Calgarians since opening. The tennis Centre has been built to international competition standards and is considered the most technologically advanced tennis Centre in Canada and is among the most technologically advanced Centres in the world. It is a highly sought-after tournament destination and hosts multiple international events each year, including the Calgary National Bank Challenger ATP event. For more information visit www.albertatenniscentre.ca.
Media Inquiries
Jenna Hamilton
Brookline Public Relations, Inc.
403-861-2443
jhamilton@brooklinepr.com
Tennis Canada Media contacts
Valérie Tétreault, Director, Communications
vtetreault@tenniscanada.com or 514-273-1515, ext. 6259
Victoria Jaklin, Coordinator, Communications and Media Relations
vjaklin@tenniscanada.com or 514-273-1515, ext. 6291
Oliver Wheeler, Coordinator, Communications
owheeler@tenniscanada.com or 416-665-9777, ext. 4545