Montreal, June 23, 2017 – The players’ list for the 2017 edition of the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger was unveiled on Thursday and it includes several young Canadians who are already serving notice in the tennis world. The $100,000 tournament will be played at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club from July 8-16, 2017.
Sixteen-year-old Félix Auger-Aliassime, who just became the seventh youngest player in history to win an ATP Challenger event after being crowned champion in Lyon last weekend, will be in the main draw. Thanks to his performance, Auger-Aliassime improved his ranking by more than 100 places to sit at a career best of no. 231 in the world. Fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov will also be in Winnipeg. The eighteen-year-old pushed world no. 14 Tomas Berdych to three sets in the second round at Queen’s on Wednesday after knocking out Kyle Edmund in the opening round. The world no. 193 was also awarded a main draw wildcard for Wimbledon. In 2016, Shapovalov won the boys’ junior singles title at the All England Club.
“We have never had such a strong and exciting group of Canadian players come to Winnipeg. Tennis fans in the area will have the chance to see Félix and Denis, who are not only the future of Canadian tennis, but also the future of international tennis,” said Mark Arndt, founder of the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger.
Canadians Frank Dancevic, Steven Diez, Filip Peilwo, Peter Polansky, and Brayden Schnur will also be joining their young compatriots in the main draw.
Tickets for the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger are available starting at $5 per day or $25 for the week. Visit: http://winnipeg.challengerbanquenationale.com/tickets-activities-information/ to reserve your seats.
