Canadians Look to Shine at ATP Challenger and ITF events in Calgary

Photo : Tyler Anderson

Tennis fans in Calgary rejoice.

This week, two tournaments are taking place in the Alberta city with both men on the ATP Challenger Tour and women from the ITF circuit fighting to win their respective titles.

After a thrilling event in Edmonton, Justin Boulais will seek a second title in as many weeks as other Canadians will hope to make a significant splash throughout the coming days.

Joining Boulais in Calgary is a slew of Canadians including Davis Cup team member Gabriel Diallo, Juan Carlos Aguilar, Steven Diez, Dan Martin, and Liam Draxl, who will all look to finish the year with a bang.

In the doubles draw, Aguilar and Boulais teamed up in their quest for a doubles title. Diez and Diallo are also playing doubles with non-Canadian partners.

Draxl already has two titles under his belt this year, while Boulais’ victory in Edmonton marked his first. Diallo has also had himself quite the year. In 2023, he secured two singles titles in Bratislava, Slovakia and in Montreal as well as notching a doubles title with partner Leandro Riedi at the Winnipeg Challenger 75 back in August.

In the women’s draw, Katherine Sebov joins the tournament as the first seed and will look to win a second title in two months after dominating at the Saguenay National Bank Challenger in October.

Sebov isn’t the only Canadian partaking in the tournament, however. Martyna Ostrzygalo, Alexia Jacobs, Stacey Fung, Isabelle Boulais, Layne Sleeth, and Kayla Cross are all partaking in search for a triumphant ending to 2023.

Fung is looking for her fourth title this year in singles, while Cross and partner Liv Hovde won the doubles draw in Edmonton over the weekend.

Cross is set to play the doubles draw again, though her partner this time is Justina Mikulskyte.

The opening rounds of both tournaments are underway with the finals set for Sunday, Nov. 12.

Written By

Louis Pavlakos