This year, the world was fixated on the Wimbledon Championships, witnessing history as Canada’s Genie Bouchard made it to the woman’s singles final. But soon, Canadian tennis fans will be able to get their fix of pro tennis closer to home.
The Rogers Cup presented by National Bank, is a tennis tournament held in Toronto and Montreal that’s bringing some of the world’s best tennis players to Canada from Aug. 1st -10th, with an anticipated attendance of over 200,000.
For the men, this tournament is part of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals). This is the second highest level of tennis in the world, being a part of the World Tour Masters 1000 of the ATP World Tour.
On the ladies side, the Rogers Cup is a part of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) and is a part of the Premier Five Tournaments of the WTA Tour. The Rogers cup is a massive compulsory tournament where the top 40 players participate, battling each other for where they will be ranked by the ATP and WTA. Bouchard will definitely be there as well.
In short, you will be able to enjoy matches of the highest possible calibre.
In this tournament, the main court isn’t the only place tennis fans will have to watch, but also the side courts during the first and second rounds of play. These games are great because you can watch very close to the action, unlike when you’re watching matches at the main court. These would be ideal for people that are interested in playing tennis and for the fans who want to be as close as possible.
Unlike soccer, baseball and other popular sports, the audience must be quiet during play except between points, as tennis is very much a mental sport. During the Wimbledon Championship, every player must put on white colours when playing from top to bottom.
The highlight of play in this tournament for many Japanese Canadians is that they will get the chance to see Kei Nishikori. He’s ranked 12th in the world by ATP rankings and will be coming to play this year, as he has since 2012. Since he burst onto the tennis scene, fans have come to admire his signature forehand strokes, earning him the nickname “Air-K” by Japanese fans.
The photo above is called the “jackknife” stroke – that’s a jump shot which requires the player to adjust himself mid-air while gaining momentum. Even though he didn’t qualify for the quarter finals at the last Wimbledon Championship, perhaps at the Rogers Cup he will land his best results ever with help from his Japanese Canadian fans cheering him on.
With the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, I reckon many will be watching some of the world’s best tennis players in the Canadian heat this August.
Photo credits: Dr. Jonathan Eto.