[MONTREAL, QC] June 9, 2025 — Tennis Canada is proud to unveil today the very first Montreal edition of the UNMATCHED Gender Equity in Sports Conference presented by National Bank, to be held on August 6 at IGA Stadium, during the 2025 National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
Launched by Tennis Canada and National Bank in 2022, UNMATCHED aims to encourage participants to make gender equity a priority and to drive lasting change in their environments. Since its inception, the conference has welcomed iconic sports figures such as Billie Jean King, Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, and Marie-Philip Poulin.
A First in Montreal with the Theme “Stronger Together”
Like its Toronto counterpart, the theme for the 2025 edition will be Stronger Together, emphasizing the critical role of allies and solidarity in driving sustainable transformation in women’s sports. However, the Montreal event will offer an original program centered around three unique panels:
1) Beyond The Game: How Progress Is Redefining Athletes’ Futures
Women’s professional sports are evolving rapidly – with greater recognition, improved conditions, and enhanced protections. This panel will explore recent advances both on and off the court, through real-world examples across sports, federations, and athlete experiences.
2) Creating Space: Reshaping Media for Women’s Sports
This panel will spotlight individuals in sports media who are building new narratives, developing innovative platforms, and creating sustainable visibility for women’s sports.
3) Women’s Sports: From Underdog to Unstoppable
Focusing on the economic drivers behind women’s sports – record-breaking audiences, strategic sponsorships, partnerships between athletes, leagues, and brands – this panel will explore the power of collaboration as a lever for sustainable growth.
Two Panelists Revealed in Advance
While the full program will be announced soon, Tennis Canada is thrilled to confirm the participation of two influential panelists:
- Laura Stacey, professional hockey player, member of Canada’s National Women’s Team and Montreal’s PWHL team, representative of the PWHL Players Association
- Marinette Pichon, Sporting Director of the Montreal Roses and French soccer legend
QUOTES
“We’re excited to officially reveal the program for the first-ever UNMATCHED Conference in Montreal and announce the participation of Laura and Marinette, two inspiring women playing key roles in local professional teams,” said Valérie Tétreault, Vice President, Communications and Professional Tournaments at Tennis Canada, and Director of the National Bank Open. “As the world’s best women tennis players compete at IGA Stadium for the National Bank Open, we believe this event – held during the tournament’s semifinals – will provide a powerful platform to elevate women’s sports, celebrate change-makers in the field, and promote a more equitable future.”
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- UNMATCHED will take place on August 6, 2025, at the Club Platine at IGA Stadium, in conjunction with the tournament semifinals, offering a unique experience fully dedicated to women’s sports.
- Tickets are now on sale. All details related to tickets and to the 2025 edition of UNMATCHED can be found on Tennis Canada’s website.
- To create the Montreal edition of the conference, Tennis Canada partnered with Collective Pivot, an organization that leverages the power of the sports industry to drive social change and elevate women’s sports.
- UNMATCHED is part of Tennis Canada and National Bank’s Game. Set. Equity. (GSE) commitment – an ambitious and holistic strategy to advance gender equity at every level of the tennis ecosystem. In March, Tennis Canada marked International Women’s Day by publishing its first Game. Set. Equity. Impact Report, highlighting early results across five pillars of the strategy, key takeaways, and next steps to achieve its goals by 2027. [Click here to view the report.]
About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth, development and promotion of tennis in Canada and a vision to be a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier National Bank Open presented by Rogers WTA and ATP Tour events, four professional ATP and ITF sanctioned events and financially supports four other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates junior national training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. 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, Billie Jean King 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 website at: www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.
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Information
Marc-Antoine Farly
Senior Manager, Corporate & Strategic Communications
mafarly@tenniscanada.com
(514) 444-3556