[MONTREAL, QC] October 30, 2024 – The player list for the Drummondville National Bank Challenger was announced on Wednesday in Drummondville, Quebec. The ATP Challenger (Category 75), held out of the Tennis intérieur René-Verrier from November 10 to 17, 2024, has crowned some exceptional champions since its inception in 2015, including former world No. 21 Daniel Evans of Great Britain, as well as Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil.
“We are thrilled to be ending the professional tennis season in Canada on a high note with a strong list of players here in Drummondville,” said Francis Milloy, Tournament Director of the Drummondville National Bank Challenger. “As most fans in the region know, many players who have gone on to do great things on the ATP Tour have played at this event at one point in their careers. Even our 2023 champion, Zizou Bergs, had a breakout year this season, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for us this year.”
Leading the way as the tournament top seed is world No. 77 James Duckworth of Australia. He has enjoyed a lot of success on Canadian soil, not only reaching the final of last year’s tournament in Drummondville, but also advancing to the third round of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers (NBO) in 2021 as a qualifier after wins over American Taylor Fritz and current world No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy. Other notable names in this year’s line-up include Americans Aleksandar Kovacevic (No. 99), and Maxime Cressy (No. 227), who won the event in 2020 and ranked as high as No. 31 in 2022.
Among the Canadian players, world No. 235 Liam Draxl of Ontario, and Quebecer Alexis Galarneau, 240th in the world, gear up to make their fourth main-draw appearances in Drummondville. Draxl, who reached a career-high ranking last Monday has had an excellent year, reaching the semi-finals of the Calgary National Bank Challenger earlier this month and winning the Edmonton tournament the week prior. As for Galarneau, he is still in search of his first title of the season, but did reach the final of an ATP Challenger (Category 125) in Mexico, in April. This summer, he also won his first ATP Masters 1000 match during the qualifiers of the NBO in Montreal.
Pospisil (Vernon, BC) and Canada’s top-ranked junior boys’ player Nicolas Arseneault (Richmond Hill, ON) were awarded wild cards into the main draw. Justin Boulais (Oakville, ON), Dan Martin (Laval, QC), Taha Baadi (Laval, QC), Alvin Tudorica (Toronto, ON), and Juan Carlos Aguilar (Montreal, QC) will be taking part in the qualifying round.
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