Canadian tennis stars to headline Everyone Can Play Gala

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Canadian tennis stars Milos Raonic, Vasek Pospisil and Rebecca Marino will headline the Everyone Can Play Gala on Oct. 11 at the Osten & Victor Alberta Tennis Centre (ATC). The Canadian tennis stars will be joined by former world No. 1 doubles player and 12x grand slam doubles champion Daniel Nestor. Nestor, the Calgary National Bank Challenger ournament ambassador, will play in the Pro-Am event on Oct. 12. He will also be joined by Raonic, Pospisil and Marino in the Pro-Am Event.

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Everyone Can Play is the ATC’s new barrier-free program which raises funds to support inclusive and accessible tennis programming for new Canadians under-represented families and youth. The inaugural gala will raise funds to support families participating in tennis in the upcoming year and proceeds will benefit the Centre’s partner agencies to help deliver this programming within the Calgary community. The gala will feature some of Calgary’s top chefs with entertainment provided by Cowboys Entertainment Group. There will also be live and silent auctions featuring high value items. The exhibition and gala will commence at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 11.

“Being an immigrant who came to Canada at three years old, but just got into tennis at age nine, this type of initiative would have helped my family immensely and I think this initiative will help many families down the road,” said Raonic. “I am also excited to be there for the gala and Pro-Am and am incredibly proud to be a part of these events and support the initiative.”

Raonic is Canada’s highest ranked singles player of all time and is ranked as high as No. 3 in the world in singles. A Wimbledon singles finalist in 2016, Raonic also made the semi-finals of the Australian Open the same year. In his career, Raonic has defeated the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Raonic is a holder of eight career titles on the ATP World Tour, was a 2024 Canadian Olympian and was recently named to Canada’s Davis Cup Team.

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“We are delighted to have Milos Raonic, Vasek Pospisil, Rebecca Marino and Daniel Nestor at this year’s inaugural Everyone Can Play Gala event,” said Danny Da Costa, CEO, The Osten & Victor Tennis Centre and tournament director. “These four athletes are trailblazers for Canadian tennis. Collectively, their contributions to Canadian Tennis have helped inspire Canada’s golden generation to achieve international excellence.”

Pospisil, who will return to the Calgary National Bank Challenger for the fourth consecutive year, has been ranked as high as No. 25 in the world in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Pospisil has wins over top 20 players including Daniil Medvedev, Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Richard Gasquet. He has also been in the finals of three ATP Tour events, including two ATP Tour 250 events in 2020 in Sofia and Montpellier, and an ATP Tour 500 event in Washington D.C. in 2014. Pospisil was part of Canada’s Davis Cup winning 2022 World Championship team. Pospisil will also compete in the Exhibition, Pro-Am and Challenger events.

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Also competing in her maiden Calgary National Bank Challenger is Vancouver’s Marino. Marino, currently ranked No. 2 in Canada and No. 139 in the world will compete in the Exhibition, Pro-Am and Challenger event. In her career, Marino has been ranked as high as No. 38 in the world in singles on the WTA Rankings, holds 15 ITF career singles titles, and was a finalist of a WTA 250 event. She was a member of the 2023 Canada’s BJK Cup World Championship team and, in her career.

“I’m beyond excited to be a part of the Calgary National Bank Challenger and the Everyone Can Play Gala. The growth of professional tennis in Western Canada is of enormous importance to me and I can’t wait to step onto the court in Calgary”, said Marino.

The fifth edition of the Calgary National Bank Challenger will return to the Osten & Victor Alberta Tennis Centre from Oct.13-20. Earlier this year, the Calgary National Bank Challenger won the 2023 Canadian Sport Tourism Prestige Award for sponsorship initiative. The Canadian Sport Tourism Awards recognize Canada’s best national and international events.

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