Star Studded Field Announced for Calgary National Bank Challenger Event
World-class international tennis stars and members of Canada’s Davis & Billie Jean King Cup Team competing in Calgary this November 5-12, 2023
CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Calgary National Bank Challenger Tournament (the “Challenger” or the “Tournament”) Director, Danny Da Costa announced a star-studded line-up today for the upcoming tournament taking place November 5 to 12, 2023 at the OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre (ATC).2022 Challenger singles champion, *Dominik Koepfer* of Germany will return to defend his title this year. Koepfer a former top 50 player in the World is currently ranked No. 78. He has wins over top 10 players Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Also headlining the event on the men’s side, is former world No. 18 *Benoit Paire* of France, former world No. 25 *Vasek Pospisil *of Canada, and former world No. 28 *Joao Sousa* of Portugal. The men’s draw will feature eight of the top 200 players and includes five former top 50 men’s players. Vasek, currently ranks No. 287 in the world, has wins over Daniil Medvedev, Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov and Felix Auger-Aliassime. He helped lead Canada to its first Davis Cup title in 2022. Also joining Vasek, are rising Canadian stars *Gabriel Diallo* and *Alexis Galarneau*.
Diallo, currently ranked No. 130 in the world, recently played for Canada at the Davis Cup event this past September, where he defeated Lorenzo Musetti (world No. 18). Last week he defeated former world No.3 and 2020 US Open Champion Dominic Thiem enroute to winning his second ATP Challenger title at the Bratislava Challenger.
This will be Galarneau's fourth Challenger. Currently ranked No.186 in the world, Galarneau also played for Canada at the Davis Cup finals group event this past September. Galarneau was 5-0 during the event and defeated world No. 38 Lorenzo Sonego of Italy. Galarneau also won the Granby Challenger, his first Challenger title of his career.
Fans will also get to cheer on several additional Canadian male players including, 2022 Davis Cup Team Squad Members *Steven Diez *and* Brayden Schnur, *as well as NCAA stars* Liam Draxl *and* Justin Boulais*. *Andrew Paulson* of Czechia and *Mats Kasnikowski* of Poland are two ATP young guns competing in Calgary, while two NCAA top 10 singles players *Andres Martin *of Georgia Tech and *Toby Samuel *of University of South Carolina were also added to the main draw as part of ITA/ATP college accelerator initiative.
The Women’s event will be headlined by 2022 Calgary National Bank Challenger defending champion and rising WTA star *Robin Montgomery* of the US and former world No. 12 and Wimbledon Singles Finalist *Sabine Lisicki. *Former top 30 player and 2022 Challenger singles finalist *Urszula Radwanska* of Poland will also be playing.
The current Women’s list also includes 13 top 200 players including Canadian BJK Cup team squad members *Katherine Sebov* of Canada (world No. 155), *Carol Zhao* (world No. 219) and *Stacey Fung* (world No. 225). Zhao and Fung will be representing Canada at the Pan American Games from October 23-29, 2023 in Santiago, Chile. Two 17-year-old global tennis stars are also slated to compete in Calgary. Canada’s *Victoria Mboko*, ranked No. 386 WTA in the world *and Liv Hovde* of the US, ranked No. 286 WTA. Several other Canadian players will also be added to the event.
Local talent will also be on display Including Calgary’s *Alexia Jacobs* competing for the second time. Jacobs, the University of Washington freshman is currently ranked No. 1,114 in the world on the WTA World Rankings. Calgary’s *Cleeve Harper *ranked No. 1,080 in the world on the ATP world rankings will also compete in the men’s event. Harper a senior at the University of Texas, was the 2022 NCAA Doubles Champion. Two additional wildcard entries will be given prior to the event.
“We are very excited with the competitors at the upcoming Tournament,” says Danny Da Costa Calgary National Bank Challenger Tournament Director. “Canada has become an emerging power on the international world stage and having so many rising and established stars is exciting for the event. We are also thrilled to welcome back our defending champions Dominik Koepfer and Robin Montgomery as well as international tennis stars Benoit Paire, Joao Sousa, Urszula Radwanska and Sabine Lisicki,” says Da Costa.
To view the full entry list for the Calgary National Bank Challenger Men’s & Women’s event, click here.
All matches from the event will be streamed live on the ATP Tour (Men) & ITF Tennis (Women) Websites.
For more information about this year’s event or to purchase tickets, visit:
· Event Information: https://www.calgary.nationalbankchallenger.com
· To buy tickets visit: http://www.showpass.com / https://calgary.nationalbankchallenger.com/ticket-info/
· Livestreaming: https://calgary.nationalbankchallenger.com/live-streaming/*ABOUT THE CALGARY NATIONAL BANK CHALLENGER** *
The Calgary National Bank Challenger is the largest combined men's & women's indoor tennis tournament in Canada. The Calgary National Bank Challenger has quickly emerged as one of the best ATP Challenger events in the world and one of Alberta's premier sporting events. In 2022, the Challenger hosted our inaugural International Tennis Federation (ITF) Women's Pro Circuit $60K Event featuring many of the best up-and-coming and established female players in the world. In 2023, the Calgary National Bank Challenger became the first International Tennis Federation W60 event in Canada to offer paid hospitality to female players. The Challenger was also a finalist for 2022 Canadian Sport Tourism Award.
Past participants of the Calgary National Bank Challenger event include: former world No.2 and 2022 US & French Open Singles finalist Casper Ruud of Norway; Former world No.12 and 2013 Wimbledon Singles Finalist Sabine Lisicki of Germany; Canadian tennis star and former Wimbledon Doubles Champion and world No.25, Vasek Pospisil; former world No. 14 and 2018 Calgary National Bank Challenger Champion Ivo Karlovic of Croatia; former top five player Tommy Robredo of Spain; 2020 Calgary National Bank Challenger Singles Finalist and current world No.32 Maxime Cressey of the United States of America and 2020 Calgary National Bank Challenger Champion Arthur Rinderknech of France who is now world No.56.
For more information: www.calgary.nationalbankchallenger.com.
*ABOUT NATIONAL BANK CHALLENGER TOURNAMENTS*
The Calgary National Bank Challenger is among several tournaments in the Challenger circuit sponsored by National Bank in Canada. Aiming to support the development of the international elite, the professional tournaments provide Canadian athletes with their first experiences on the Tours and the opportunity to earn valuable points to move up in the world rankings. Over the years, the National Bank Challenger tournaments have served as a springboard for players including Canadian stars Félix Auger-Aliassime, Leylah Annie Fernandez, Denis Shapovalov and Bianca Andreescu, as well as Casper Ruud, Maxime Cressy and John Isner of the US, Daniel Evans of the UK, Angelique Kerber and Sabine Lisicki of Germany and Ons Jabeur of Tunisia.
*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 4.24 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 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 200,000 people since opening its doors in 2016 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 and ITF Pro Circuit events.
*Media Contact:*
Kelsey Wilson
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