Families, young tennis fans enjoy free day ahead of National Bank Open

For young tennis fans, there’s nothing like family weekend ahead of the National Bank Open in Montreal.

Canada’s biggest tennis tournament is set to kick off at IGA Stadium in Montreal. But before play officially gets underway, fans took part in Sunday’s free family event.

Families were granted access to the site for a chance to meeting their favourite tennis stars, get autographs, and let them try their hand at tennis on mini courts.

“I think that for many people, every family weekend, it’s like their first introduction to tennis and I think there’s no better way really to be introduced to tennis than coming to our event,” said Valerie Tetreault, the tournament director for the National Bank Open in Montreal.

“Seeing a little bit of matches, watching also the greatest players practise, seeing them very closely and also benefit from all the activities that are happening on the ground. So it’s all about having fun.”

Montrealers were able to dive into an array of exciting activities, from zootherapy sessions to a hands-on introduction to wheelchair tennis.

“Well, it’s fun because my son is a tennis fan,” a father told CityNews. “He’s eight years old and he just wants to watch all the pros play. So that’s why we’re here today.”

National Bank Open beings Monday and ends Aug. 12. The men’s event is taking place in Montreal this year while the women play in Toronto.

Holding a tennis tournament right after the Olympic event posed a considerable challenge. Tetrault says it was disappointing not to have Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in attendance — the Olympic finalists — but she is pleased to welcome many top-10 and Canadian players to the event.

“Of course our Canadian players are always expected from the fans,” Tetreault said. “Félix Auger-Aliassime is currently I think on the plane on his way to Montreal. He will be in action on Wednesday night. Denis Shapovalov is going to be another one that is quite popular. He made a great run in 2017 by reaching the semi-final in beating Rafael Nadal, so I’m excited to see him.”

Auger-Aliassime was certainly a fan favourite among attendees at IGA Stadium on Sunday.

“Yeah, I’m excited to see Félix from Canada. I came out from New York just to see him up here,” one person said.

“I’m definitely looking forward to seeing Félix Auger-Aliassime. I’m also excited to see (Jannik) Sinner, number 1. He seems very good.”

Sinner is the defending National Bank Open champion on the men’s side.

“Yeah. I’m excited to see Sinner and other big names like that, but I’m also a longtime fan of (Vasek) Pospisil,” one woman said. “So it’s great to see him in his home country playing. I had the honour of meeting him yesterday already, but excited to see what he does this week.”