Upcoming TPA seminar in Winnipeg

The Tennis Professionals Association (TPA) is proud to present a seminar that will focus on 10 and under & 12 and under player training. The sessions take place Tuesday, July 23rd from 10am - 5pm at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club. Attendees will be allowed to participate in the junior provincial camp, led by the Prairies’ Technical Director, Charlie McLean and Tennis Canada’s Director of High Performance Club and Talent Development, Christophe Lambert.

This seminar will count as a full day re-certification opportunity. For more information and to register, click here.

For additional information on the TPA certification program click here.

New tennis tourney starting in Winnipeg

Kimberley-Ann Surin in a doubles match at the ITF International Tennis Championships at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club in 2010. The Wildwood tennis club will be hosting a new pro-level women's tournament this July. (PHIL HOSSACK/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

Courtesy of Canstar Community News

Tennis Canada and Tennis Manitoba are adding a new tournament to their calendar this year.

The CIBC Wood Gundy Challenger will serve its first ball July 21 at Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club, located at 761 North Dr. in Wildwood. The tournament will run until July 28 as competitors play for a grand prize of $25,000.

The tournament is an International Tennis Federation-sanctioned event on the ITF pro circuit, according to a release issued by Tennis Manitoba. It will be the first pro-level women's tournament since 2000, the release states.

"Tennis Canada provided our province with an unbelievable opportunity to stage a world-class event," said Mark Arndt, executive director of Tennis Manitoba. "We are extremely thankful that CIBC Wood Gundy has aligned itself with the tournament thus offering our region's top-ranked players a chance to measure up against some of the best in women's professional tennis."

A local women's qualifier will take place July 18 to 20, prior to the start of the tournament. Admission to the tournament is free.

See also: Women's professional tennis tournament set for inaugural year in Winnipeg

Women's professional tennis tournament set for inaugural year in Winnipeg

CIBC Wood Gundy Challenger will hit first ball July 21 at Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club

Toronto, June 25, 2013 – Tennis Canada and Tennis Manitoba announced Tuesday the launch of a new women’s professional tennis tournament in Winnipeg. The CIBC Wood Gundy Challenger, an International Tennis Federation-sanctioned event on the ITF Pro Circuit with total prize money of $25,000, will take place from July 21-28 at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club.

“We are very proud to be announcing the addition of the CIBC Wood Gundy Challenger in Winnipeg,” said Gavin Ziv, director of national events, Tennis Canada. “Winnipeg is an emerging tennis market, and this event will provide local fans with a great chance to see some talented professionals up close. It also will offer Canadian women another valuable opportunity to earn rankings points and ply their craft against top international players on home soil.”

The CIBC Wood Gundy Challenger joins five other women’s ITF Pro Circuit events on the 2013 Canadian national competitive calendar. It will be Winnipeg’s first professional-level women’s tournament since 2000, and comes a year after the city’s inaugural Manshield Tennis Futures, a $15,000 men’s event, which will see its second edition take place August 17-25 at Sargent Park Tennis Garden.

“Tennis Canada provided our province with an unbelievable opportunity to stage a world-class event,” said Mark Arndt, executive director, Tennis Manitoba. “We are extremely thankful that CIBC Wood Gundy has aligned itself with the tournament thus offering our region’s top-ranked players a chance to measure up against some of the best in women’s professional tennis.”

Prior to the official start of the event, a local women’s qualifier will take place July 18-20 to give players from Manitoba a chance to compete for a spot in the tournament. Qualifying action will then occur July 21 and 22, with main draw action commencing on July 23 and a champion crowned on July 28. Admission to the tournament is free all week.

The Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club will also be a hub of Canadian junior tennis during the tournament. A Rogers Rookie Tour event for beginners is set for July 21, while on July 23-25 Manitoba and Saskatchewan’s best juniors will compete for spots in the national junior championships at the Prairie Regionals. A U12 and U14 Tennis Canada training camp will also occur July 22-24.

In addition, fans on-site can visit the Little Aces Tennis Zone to pick up a racquet themselves, and other scheduled events include the Sharon Pollack Classic fashion show on July 22, Player and Sponsor Appreciation Night on July 23, and CIBC Wood Gundy Client Night on July 24.

For more information about the CIBC Wood Gundy Challenger, please visit the tournament’s official website at www.winnipegchallenger.com.

About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth of tennis in Canada and a vision to become a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier Rogers Cup presented by National Bank WTA and ATP World Tour events, eight professional ITF sanctioned events and financially supports 11 other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates junior national training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the International Wheelchair Tennis Association, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Fed Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information on Tennis Canada please visit our Web site at: www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Media Contacts:
Mark Arndt, Tournament Chair & Executive Director, Tennis Manitoba
Office: 204-925-5660 / Cell: 204-799-2224, or mark@tennismanitoba.com

Sarah Grossman, Manager, Communications and Media Relations, Tennis Canada
416-650-7922, or sgrossman@tenniscanada.com

Nicole Watts, Coordinator, Communications and Media Relations, Tennis Canada
416-665-9777 ext. 4092, or nwatts@tenniscanada.com

Kylar wins Deer Lodge Classic title

Kevin Kylar (left) and tournament director, Sean Grassie.

Kevin Kylar won his second men's Open singles title at the Deer Lodge Classic on Sunday, June 23, beating Alex Lesiuk 6-3, 6-1 in the final. Kylar, who also won the tournament at Deer Lodge in 2011, lost just eight games total in his four matches en route to the 2013 crown.

Lesiuk teamed up with Saul Shrom to the win the men's Open doubles event, beating Trevor Borland/Sean Grassie 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Other winners included Tom Brown (men's 4.5 singles), Vinh Nguyen (men's 3.5 singles), Susan Blumenschein/Chris Schaap (mixed 4.5 doubles), and Susan Blumenschein/Sherri Cowlthorp (women's 4.5 doubles).

A total of 72 players took part in the Deer Lodge Classic (sponsored by Nichol Wilson Capital Partners), held June 17-23 at the Deer Lodge Tennis Club.

Next up on the Tennis Manitoba Open Tour is the Manitoba Clay Court Championships, which runs July 8th to 14th at Taylor Tennis. To review the 2013 Tennis Manitoba Open Tour schedule, as well as previous tournament results, click here.

More tennis instructors for Manitoba

A new batch of tennis instructors are in the process of getting certified at the Tennis Canada introductory level instructor course held at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club. Course facilitator, Andy Sutton, is working with 15 attendees from Winnipeg, as well as Lorette, Brandon, Killarney, and Dryden, ON.

Once completed the course, the certified instructors will be able to teach tennis anywhere in Canada and enrolled as members of the Tennis Professionals Association.

For a complete listing of certified tennis instructors in Manitoba, click here.

See also: Tennis Manitoba Coaching

Team Toba Tennis Squad is announced

Courtesy of Team Manitoba. 

The women’s team will be captained by Emily Fridrik, who will be making her second consecutive multi-sport games appearance after competing in the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games. She will be joined by Kylie Waschuk and Hannah Blatt, who also competed at the 2011 WCSG and games newcomer Jennifer Wang.

Cole Lacap is the men’s team captain. Patrick Fu, Shrey Gupta and Miraj Soni are the other team members. Both Lacap and Fu competed at the 2011 WCSG in Kamloops. Daniel Gharagozloo was selected as an alternate.

Jarrod Connell is the coach and Chera Mikos the manager.

Visit the Canada Summer Games website.

Play Tennis, Be Happy

Trying to find the right balance between life and tennis.

Article courtesy of Scott Fraser, president of the Ontario Tennis Association.

I was saddened to hear about Rebecca Marino's struggle with depression and cyber-bullying and her subsequent departure from professional tennis. I read many of the articles that were published immediately following her announcement in late February, but one particular quote from the Toronto Star caught my eye ... "The reason I’m stepping back is just because I don’t think that I’m willing to sacrifice my happiness and other parts of my life to tennis". A young player reading this might get the impression that playing competitive tennis and being happy don't go together. I think it's safe to say that feeling is an exception rather than a rule, however, it does give food for thought in terms of how to increase the likelihood that playing tennis (or any sport) remains a positive experience.

This subject is actually part of a larger issue a special Retention Committee, comprised of PTA presidents and Tennis Canada, began to discuss last year - strategies to retain 13 to 24 year old tennis players. There are many circumstances which lead to teens stopping or suspending playing competitive tennis. Much of this is covered in an ITF report from April 2012 titled "Teenagers in Tennis - A report into youth trends inside and outside of sport", by James Newman. Everything from increased responsibilities at school, work and with family, to relationships and shifting priorities. On the darker side, there comes the (unhealthy) pressure from coaches and parents to succeed, so much so that the player eventually "burns out" or becomes disinterested and moves on.

Whatever the reason, I'm glad the provincial presidents and Tennis Canada are coming together to look at opportunities over the next few years to encourage teens to stay in the sport. One of the keys, the ITF report suggests, is to retain the FUN aspect of playing while maintaining open coach and parent communication and a positive developmental philosophy. Of course, having great coaches and role models, good access to courts and competition at all stages is also very important. Thus becomes the challenge to provide tennis opportunities from teen to adult: where they work, where they play, and where they attend school and University. Some of the recommendations of the Retention Committee will build on these themes. For example, the Youth team tennis leagues format can be modified and marketed for the 12-24 age range, while making it "cool" and social media savvy. As well, the education initiative has to remain a priority to ensure a good pathway for teens moving on to University and College.

From the OTA perspective, we will continue to strengthen and improve our programming to ensure a positive experience for all players - having certified officials at appropriate level sanctioned tournaments to promote fair play and conduct, providing a large base of competitive opportunities for players (800+ events in 2012 alone), working closely with our member clubs and academies who provide much-needed court access to hold these events, and promoting high school tennis participation through the OFSAA federation of school athletic associations, to name a few. In fact, OFSAA tennis championships held annually at York University can currently boast over 300 players competing in 10 events, in large part due to their strong partnership with the OTA, Tennis Canada and York University.

Ultimately I hope that every player will find the right balance over his/her lifetime to keep tennis dear to them and participate at whatever level makes them happy, be it as a club player, volunteer, official or tennis instructor and mentor for the next wave of young players. And maybe even Rebecca can find her way to embrace tennis again in some fashion and be happy again!

Your thoughts and opinions are always welcome. Please email Scott at srfraser@sympatico.ca to share your ideas and input. You can find further articles by Scott on his "Between the Lines" blog at www.tennisontario.com.

Winnipeg Little Aces Tennis Festival

Stop by the Crescentwood Community Center on Wednesday, June 19th (5-8pm) for FREE kids tennis, hot dogs & prizes!