CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Calgary National Bank Challenger Tournament Director, Danny Da Costa announced this year’s line-up for the upcoming tournament taking place Oct. 13 – 20, 2024 at the OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre.
Young American tennis star J.J. Wolf, who was ranked No. 39 in the world in 2023, is one of the headliners at this year’s Calgary National Bank Challenger. Wolf, reached the Rd 16 at the 2023 Australian Open, has wins over Top 20 players Cam Norrie of Great Britain, Frances Tiafoe of the United States and Canada’s Denis Shapovalov. Joining Wolf is former World No. 17 Bernard Tomic of Australia and 2018 Calgary National Bank Challenger Semi-Finalist Borna Gojo of Croatia who was ranked as high as 75 in the world a year-ago, and rising star Maks Kasnikowski of Poland. The men’s draw features three Top 200 players.
This year’s Calgary National Bank Challenger also features two members of Canada’s 2024 Davis Cup Finals Team. Canadian Tennis Star, Vasek Pospisil, a former World No. 25 is a 2014 Wimbledon Doubles Champion. He also helped lead Canada to its first Davis Cup title in 2022. Also, joining him is Alexis Galarneau of Montreal. Galarneau will make his fourth appearance in Calgary and has won one challenger title (Granby 2023) in his career. 2023 Calgary National Bank Challenger defending champion Liam Draxl of Canada will make his third appearance in Calgary. Draxl, a former No. 1 ranked NCAA singles player, won the 2023 Challenger defeating Dominik Koepfer in the final.
The women’s event is headlined by Tatjana Maria of Germany. Maria, currently ranked No. 85 in the world, is a former 2018 Wimbledon singles quarterfinalist and world No. 42. A holder of three WTA Tour titles, Maria, has wins over Top 20 players Maria Sakkari of Greece, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Leylah Fernandez of Canada. Competing in her maiden Calgary National Bank Challenger is Canada’s No. 2 player, Rebecca Marino, of Vancouver. Marino, a member of Canada’s 2023 World Championship BJK Cup Team, has been ranked as high as No. 38 in the world. Marino holds 15 ITF career singles titles and was a finalist of a WTA 250 event. Marino has wins over Top 10 players including Venus Williams, Caroline Garcia and Madison Keys. In 2022, Marino reached the third round of the US Open Singles event.
Canadian female players will be well represented at this year’s Calgary National Bank Challenger. Joining Marino is 2023 Calgary National Bank Challenger Singles Finalist Stacey Fung of Vancouver (world No. 270), Carol Zhao of Toronto (world No. 234), Carson Branstine (world No. 275) and Katherine Sebov of Montreal (world #288) and rising Canadian stars Kayla Cross and Vicky Mboko.
Local talent will also be on display with four OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre (ATC) members competing. Calgary’s Alexia Jacobs, a sophomore at the University of Washington, currently ranked No. 54 NCAA singles and No. 17 NCAA doubles will compete for the third time. Joining Jacobs is fellow ATC member Cleeve Harper, who recently completed his stellar NCAA career. Attending the University of Texas, Harper won an NCAA team title and won the 2022 NCAA Doubles Title. He was also a 2023 NCAA Doubles Finalist. Since turning professional, Harper has excelled on the doubles tour winning his first ATP Challenger Doubles title in Dobrich with Liam Draxl. Harper is ranked No. 279 in the world on the ATP Doubles rankings. ATC members Hailey Murphy (Texas Tech) and Tyler Waddock (Eastern Washington) have also been awarded qualifying wildcards.
“This year’s player field is full of young international and Canadian talent. We are thrilled to welcome international stars like JJ Wolf, Tatjana Maria and Rebecca Marino in Calgary,” said Danny Da Costa, Tournament Director. “Attracting world-class talent has always been our goal for the Challenger, but we are equally excited to have four of our club members at this year’s event. Since 2016, our team has done a great job developing some of Alberta’s top players, and we are thrilled to be able to give opportunities to Albertans to compete against some of the best talent in the world.”
To view the Full Entry List for the Calgary National Bank Challenger Men’s & Women’s Event click here.
Tennis fans across Canada will be able to watch four matches per day live on CBC Sports YouTube Page from Oct. 14 – 19. The Men’s & Women’s Singles Finals will be aired on CBC Gem on Oct. 20.
“This marks the first time a challenger event will be broadcasted live in Canada, and we are also thrilled to also be able to bring tennis into smaller communities across Canada with Rogers TV," said Da Costa.
Rogers will broadcast two matches per day on Rogers TV in various markets across Canada. All matches from the event will be streamed live on the ATP Tour (Men) & ITF Tennis (Women) websites.
For more information on this year’s event or to purchase tickets visit: https://calgary.nationalbankchallenger.com or http://www.showpass.com
Several new and returning initiatives taking place at this year’s event:
- The Calgary National Bank Challenger Core Shopping Centre promotion presented by Holt Renfrew will return from Sept. 30 to Oct. 9, 2024, from 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. daily at the CORE Shopping Centre. This free event provides Calgarians the opportunity to try out their tennis skills, play with the pros and win free tickets to this year’s event.
- The Everyone Can Play Gala will take place Oct. 11 to raise funds for under-resourced families and new Canadians. The gala includes a pro-exhibition headlined by Milos Raonic, Vasek Pospisil, Rebecca Marino and Daniel Nestor. Following the exhibition match a gala will follow with some of Canada’s top restaurants participating. Over $11,000 in donation items are available from the live and silent auctions.
- Calgary National Bank Challenger Community Day presented by Rogers is returning Oct. 12 providing free admission to the tournament and Calgary National Bank Challenger Pro-Am presented by Rogers. The Pro-Am will include ATP and WTA stars, as well as Calgary Flames Alumni Robyn Regehr and Morris Lukowich participating.
Tickets for The Challenger start at $20.00 per day and are available at: https://calgary.nationalbankchallenger.com.
Tickets for the EVERYONE CAN PLAY GALA are $250.00 per ticket, which includes the exhibition match and gala. A $100.00 charitable tax receipt is also provided. Tickets for the exhibition only are also available. To purchase tickets, visit https://www.showpass.com/everyone-can-play-gala/.
For more information about the ATC, please visit http://www.albertatenniscentre.ca/.
ABOUT OSTEN & VICTOR ALBERTA TENNIS CENTRE
Founded in 2013 and opened in 2016, the Osten & Victor Alberta Tennis Centre is a staple of the Acadia and Calgary community. Recognized as one of Canada’s premier tennis facilities, the Centre was championed by local funders with the support of Tennis Canada. The 13-court, state-of-the-art, family-friendly tennis facility is in the heart of Acadia (SE Calgary) and covers over 4.22 acres. The non-profit Centre has quickly established itself as the benchmark for facility design and operation in Canada. The Centre has serviced over 200,000 Albertans since its opening and is built to international competition standards. It is a highly sought-after tournament destination and hosts multiple international events each year, including the Calgary National Bank Challenger ATP event. The Centre won Growth Compass People’s Choice Award at the 2024 Scale-Up Awards.
For more information visit www.albertatenniscentre.ca.
ABOUT THE CALGARY NATIONAL BANK CHALLENGER
The Calgary National Bank Challenger is the largest combined men's and 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.
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, 2024 Wimbledon Singles Semi-Finalist Lulu Sun of New Zealand, 2023 Calgary National Bank Champion and 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 and 2023 Calgary National Bank Challenger Champion Liam Draxl of Canada.
For more information, visit: https://calgary.nationalbankchallenger.com.
PLEASE CONTACT:
Danny Da Costa, Tournament Director & Chief Executive Officer
Calgary National Bank Challenger & OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre
Tel: +1 (403) 472 2223
Email: ddacosta@albertatenniscentre.ca
MEDIA CONTACT:
Amanda Upshaw
Brookline Public Relations, Inc.
Tel: +1 (403) 389-2291
Email: aupshaw@brooklinepr.com
