Community Centre re-opens repaired tennis courts

The tennis court's at Winnipeg's Windsor Community Centre
on Killarney Street got a facelift.

By CBC News

After Tennis Manitoba criticized Winnipeg for its maintenance of city tennis courts, the Windsor Community Centre has stepped up its game.

The courts at the Killarney Street centre have been resurfaced.

Councillor Brian Mayes says it's exciting for the community.

"I think it's going to be great, people already saying 'I didn't know that that was there before'.  People driving by.  Walking by and I think it's going to be well used," he said.

The community centre held a ceremony to introduce people to the courts. A tennis pro was on hand giving lessons.

Ashe, Becker, Seles – These tennis stars have all played in Winnipeg

Anna Kournikova (left) vs. Monica Seles in an exhibition
match held in Winnipeg on December 15, 2002.

By Sean Grassie

It was a big summer for professional tennis in Winnipeg in 2013 – the CIBC Wood Gundy Women’s Challenger was held in July at Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club, followed by the Manshield Tennis Men’s Futures at Sargent Park in August. Having elite international players visit the city, though, is nothing new. Here are some of the other marquee tennis events that have been held in Winnipeg:

Davis Cup – 1970

The city hosted the Davis Cup for the first time in 1970. In fact, two ties were held on back-to-back weekends at the Winnipeg Canoe Club. Up first for Canada was Caribbean/West Indies. John Sharpe got the host country off to an early lead by beating Richard Russell 6-8, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 in front of a crowd of about 800, “most of whom sat through the 3 ½ hour match in blistering temperatures,” wrote the Winnipeg Free Press. The Canadian team also included Mike Belkin and Peter Burwash (a long-time tennis commentator for TSN). Canada went on to beat Caribbean/West Indies 5-0.

Up next for the home side was a tie against New Zealand, also held at the Canoe Club. New Zealand, coming off a win over Mexico, landed in Winnipeg full of confidence. “We’ll probably win 5-0 or 4-1,” New Zealand captain Eric White told the Free Press. The Canadians, though, had other ideas.

Knotted at 2-2, the tie came down to the last singles match: Belkin against New Zealand’s Onny Parun. Belkin, ranked No. 36 in the world at the time, won 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. “This isn’t like a tournament where you’re playing for a few thousand people,” Belkin told the Free Press after the win. “This is the Davis Cup. This is for Canada!”

Pan Am Games – 1967 and 1999

Winnipeg Canoe Club hosted the tennis events at the 1967 Pan Am Games. Headlining the field was Arthur Ashe, who lost his second straight Australian Open final earlier that year (Ashe went on to win three majors – 1968 U.S. Open, 1970 Australian Open and 1975 Wimbledon). Ashe won a bronze medal in singles at the Pan Am Games and gold in mixed doubles with Jane Albert. In the men’s singles final, Thomas Koch (Brazil) beat Herbert Fitzgibbon (U.S.) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in front of close to 2,000 spectators at the Canoe Club. Elena Subirats (Mexico) won gold in the women’s singles with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Patsy Rippy (U.S.).

The Pan Am Games returned to the city in 1999, with the tennis events at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club. Among the notables making the trip were Alexandra Stevenson of the U.S. (she reached the Wimbledon semifinals that year), 17-year-old David Nalbandian of Argentina (2002 Wimbledon finalist) and the U.S. doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan. The men’s singles gold medal went to Paul Goldstein of the U.S., who beat countryman Cecil Mamiit 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 in the final. In the women’s singles final, Venezuela’s Maria Venta defeated Tara Snyder of the U.S. 7-6, 6-1. Stevenson and Nalbandian each won bronze.

Tennis Exhibitions – 1987 and 2002

In 1987, Boris Becker met Kevin Curren in a tennis exhibition at the Winnipeg Arena. Two years earlier Becker beat Curren in the Wimbledon final, making the 17-year-old the youngest and first unseeded player to win the title. At the arena, local tennis fans got a chance to see two of the biggest hitters in the game, “and some of the patrons – the ones with the high-priced seats behind the baseline – need armor for protection when Becker started to get his serve in gear,” the Free Press wrote. Becker won 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 (in the preliminary match, Canadian champion Andrew Sznajder beat Vitas Gerulaitis 9-8 in a pro-set). After his win, Becker kept reporters waiting for about 30 minutes while he iced his weary arms and legs. “When you get to my age, you’ve got to take care of yourself,” the 19-year-old told the media.

Another tennis exhibition came to the Winnipeg Arena in December of 2002, with nine-time Grand Slam champion Monica Seles taking on Anna Kournikova. What brought the two tennis stars to Winnipeg in the winter? “Maybe there’s some little boy or girl who will come and be inspired by (our match),” Seles told the Free Press. “That’s why we’re coming, we’re introducing young kids to tennis.” Kournikova beat Seles 6-4, 7-5. The exhibition featured four other matches, including a match-up between two Winnipeg junior stars: 13-year-old Sean Lacap and 16-year-old Kyla McNicol.

Kylar Continues Dominant Run

Kevin Kylar shown here in action at the 2013 Manshield
Tennis Futures at Sargent Park Tennis Garden in Winnipeg.

 
By Geoff Kirbyson

Kevin Kylar cemented his status as the No. 1-ranked tennis player in Manitoba with a dominating run through the field at the Tuxedo Open.

The 19-year-old lost just 10 games in four matches in securing the men’s open title, highlighted by a 6-1, 6-3 victory over unseeded Stephen Dubienski on Sept. 15.

The 30-year-old Dubienski, who recently moved back to Winnipeg after spending several years in Vancouver, knocked off a pair of seeded players en route to the final – No. 2 Roland Burrell in the quarters and No. 4 Shane Nicholls in the semis.

Kylie Waschuk made short work of the women’s field, too, defeating Lori Mann 6-1, 6-0 in the women’s final.

In men’s doubles action, No. 2 seeds Jared Connell and Roland Burrell defeated the No. 1-ranked duo of Ray Daumler and Peter Eck, 6-4, 3-6 and 10-4 in the third set super tie break.

Complete listing of 2013 Tuxedo Open results are available at tennismanitoba.com.

2013-14 Provincial Tennis Team

Team Manitoba tennis at the 2013 Canada Summer Games,
Shrebrooke, Quebec.

Tennis Manitoba has announced details of the 2013-14 Provincial & National Training Center Program. The 28 week program includes weekly on court sessions, strength and conditioning training, quarterly fitness testing and out of province competition.

Team tryouts are scheduled for 4 - 7 p.m., September 28, 2013. Competitive junior tennis players interested in participating in the team tryouts, are asked to register prior to 12 noon, Friday, September 27th. To access the tryout registration form, click here.

The following is an overview of the program:

1. Coaching Staff

• Head Coach - Jared Connell
• Assistant Coach - Robert Kennedy
• Assistant Coach - Marlon Goldburn

2. Open Tryout

• An open tryout for is scheduled for 4 - 7 p.m., Saturday, September 28 at Tuxedo Tennis Club for junior tennis players (boys and girls) in the U12 to to U18 age categories.
• In the event of inclement weather, please meet at Taylor Tennis Club.
• There is no fee for the tryout session.

3. Team Selection Criteria

• Team members will be selected by the coaching staff, with selection notifications made by September 30th.
• Selections will be based on past tournament performances / results, program commitment, physical competencies, match play and tennis skills.

4. Program Dates

• Session 1: 8 weeks, week of Sept 30 - Dec 9, 2013
• Session 2: 10 weeks, week of Jan 6 - Mar 24, 2014
• Session 3: 10weeks, week of Mar 31 - Jun 9, 2014

5. Program Training

• On court tennis: 1day per week, 2 hours
• On court fitness: 1 day per week, 1 hour (following tennis session)
• Strength and conditioning: 1 day per week, 1 hour
• Fitness testing: 5 tests throughout program
• Training session days will be separated by age group / ability level
• Training days to be announced

6. Program Travel

• Tournament 1: Edmonton, AB, Nov 1 - 3, 2013
• Tournament 2: Saskatoon,SK, Nov 30 - 31, 2013
• Tournament 3: Edmonton, AB, Feb 28 - Mar 2, 2014
• Tournament 4: Prairie Regionals, Saskatoon,SK, dates TBD (mid-March)

7. Program Apparel

• Each team member will receive a tracksuit, 2 training shirts

8. Program Fee

• Costs are currently being finalized. An approximate fee of $1,600 per player for the 28 weeks. The program fee does not include travel expenses.

9. Player Agreement

• Team members are required to adhered to a player agreement, which is to be signed by the player, parent / guardian, and personal coach. Included in the player agreement will be competition schedules that include participation in all regional and national championships that the player qualifies for in their respective age group, fitness programs / testings and results, technical improvements, training attitudes and behaviour. Periodic evaluations will be held throughout the program.
• Program participants will be chosen on the above criteria. There are limited number of team spots available in each age group. Players are selected to a particular age category based on their date of birth and/or ability. Each group will consist of a combination of boys and girls.

10. Code of Conduct

• All team members are required to sign a Tennis Manitoba Code of Conduct agreement.

Twitter recap: Raonic Trends in Winnipeg

On Monday evening after a five-hour rain delay pushed back the fourth-round U.S. Open match between Milos Raonic and Richard Gasquet to a much smaller court, TSN picked up the TV coverage without providing commentary.

Die hard Winnipeg tennis fans took to Twitter to voice their own views on the thrilling match that saw the Canadian go down in a hard-fought battle to the Frenchman 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(9), 7-5.

See also: Milos Raonic's loss at the U.S. Open: social media condolences

Manitoba Juniors Take on Canada's Best

Kylie Waschuk made it to the round of 16 at the Under 18
Rogers Outdoor Junior Nationals, losing out to the no. 1-seeded
player, Gloria Liang from Ontario. (Photo: Kristin Muller)

Five of Manitoba's top junior tennis players qualified to play at the 2013 Rogers Junior Outdoor National Championships this past August, for an opportunity to compete with the best junior players in Canada.

For Sabrina Alano (Under 12), Jennifer Wang (Under 14), and Shrey Gupta (Under 16), it was their first appearance at the junior nationals.

Just prior to the junior nationals, Wang and Gupta, along with Kylie Waschuk (Under 18), made a successful run at the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Quebec, tying an all-time best Team Manitoba tennis result by placing fifth.

David Krowiak (Under 14) joined Wang at the Under 14 nationals, making it the third time he has competed at a national level.

There are eight junior national tournaments a year; one indoor and one outdoor for each of the Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18 age categories. The outdoor junior nationals were held in Mississauga, Ontario, and Mont Tremblant, Quebec.

Tennis Canada often uses the results from the junior nationals to determine which players represent Canada at some of the big international events like the Junior Davis Cup, Junior Fed Cup and World Junior Tennis competitions.

Manitoba juniors that participated at the junior nationals were selected from results at Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour and Prairie Regional qualifying events. For additional information on competitive junior tennis in Manitoba, please visit www.tennismanitoba.com.

See also:
> 2013 Rogers Outdoor Junior Nationals photos
> Looking for gold at Mont-Tremblant

Manitobans Participate at Senior Nationals in Vancouver

Manitoba was represented at the Steve Stevens Senior National Championships recently held in Vancouver, BC. A total of 444 players from across the nation participated at the event held at the Vancouver Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club, Arbutus Club, and Jericho Tennis Club.

Making the trip from Winnipeg was Mark Lloyd (35+ age group), Tom Brown (50+), Chris Shay (50+), and Glen Ziprick (55+).

Tennis players who are 35 years and older, that are interested in participating in future senior nationals can contact Tennis Manitoba for entrance requirements.

A complete listing of national senior events can be found on the Tennis Canada website at www.tenniscanada.com.

See also: Champions Crowned at Senior Nationals in Vancouver