Canadian Tennis Stars Eugenie Bouchard, Vasek Pospisil, Rebecca Marino and Brayden Schnur Return to …..
Odlum Brown VanOpen – West Vancouver, BC – Organizers of the Odlum Brown VanOpen are pleased to announce that top Canadian tennis stars Eugenie Bouchard, Vasek Pospisil, Rebecca Marino and Brayden Schnur will play in this year’s tournament August 12 – 18 at Hollyburn Country Club.
Bouchard is one of the most recognizable tennis players in Canada. The 25-year-old from Montreal is a former World No. 5 and at Wimbledon in 2014, became the first player representing Canada to reach the final of a Grand Slam tournament in singles. Bouchard was also a semifinalist at the 2014 Australian Open and the 2014 French Open.
Pospisil is a former World No. 25 who holds four career wins over top-10 opponents, including former World No. 1 and fellow Odlum Brown VanOpen alumnus Andy Murray. The 29-year-old who was born in Vernon, BC won a Wimbledon doubles crown in 2014 and has been ranked as high as World No. 4 in doubles. He also reached the quarterfinals in singles at Wimbledon in 2015 and semifinals at the 2013 Rogers Cup in Montreal.
Marino has been ranked as high as World No. 38. She has two career victories over top-50 ranked players, including former World No. 7 Marion Bartoli and former World No. 9 Timea Bacsinszky. The Vancouverite was also named Tennis Canada Female Player of the Year in 2010 and 2011. She first played at the Odlum Brown VanOpen as a 16-year-old in 2006 and returned to the tournament from 2007 to 2010, reaching the quarterfinals twice.
Schnur is currently the 4th highest ranked Canadian men’s player, behind only Milos Raonic, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov. The 24-year-old is a former Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rookie of the Year and Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year while at the University of North Carolina. Schnur made his Grand Slam men’s singles draw debut at Wimbledon earlier this month, when he replaced Borna Coric as a lucky loser after the Croatian player withdrew with an injury.
“It is fantastic news to have Rebecca, Genie, Vasek and Brayden returning to our tournament. All four players played our event last year and contributed to us having sell out crowds,” said Odlum Brown VanOpen Tournament Director Rik de Voest. “It is extremely rare to have some of the top Canadian men’s and women’s tennis players compete on the same court on the same day and we are thrilled to provide it to tennis fans in Vancouver. This is shaping up to be another fabulous year for the Odlum Brown VanOpen and I encourage fans to get tickets early, so they don’t miss out on their favorite players.”
Bouchard has been named Tennis Canada female player of the year four times and is a two-time winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canadian female athlete of the year . She has reached the third round or better in nine Grand Slam tournaments and represented Canada on numerous occasions, including at the 2016 Rio Olympics and as a member of Canada’s Fed Cup team.
Pospisil won the 2013 Odlum Brown VanOpen title and is a longtime member of Canada’s Davis Cup team. In addition, Pospisil and his partner Daniel Nestor finished fourth in doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He’s coming off a memorable outing on Canada Day in the first round of Wimbledon where he faced fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in a four set match.
Marino, a University of British Columbia rowing alumna, is a seven-time Grand Slam participant and made it to the third round at Roland Garros in 2011. Marino is currently Canada’s third highest ranked women’s player – behind Odlum Brown VanOpen alumnus Bianca Andreescu and Bouchard. She won a $60,000 ITF Women’s World Tour event in Japan this past May and is also a member of Canada’s Fed Cup team.
Schnur turned pro at the 2016 Rogers Cup, where he upset then-World No. 98 Ruben Bemelmans in the first round of qualifying. The Toronto native has won a combined nine ITF Futures championships in singles and doubles. He made his Grand Slam debut two years ago at the US Open and advanced to the third round of qualifying at Wimbledon last year.
At last year’s Odlum Brown VanOpen. Bouchard and Marino both reached the women’s singles quarterfinals while Pospisil advanced to the men’s singles semis before falling to eventual champion Daniel Evans. Tickets for this year’s tournament are available online at http://www.vanopen.com
For more information, contact Odlum Brown VanOpen Media Manager Brian Wiebe at 604-916-8448 or media@vanopen.com.
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