MONTREAL, October 26, 2023 (Tennis Canada Press Release)
The excitement is building up in Alberta as the player lists for the Edmonton National Bank Challenger and the Calgary National Bank Challenger have been officially announced. Both tournaments are combined men’s and women’s events, with the event in Edmonton scheduled to take place from October 30 to November 5, and the Calgary Challenger to be held from November 6 to 12.
Hosted at the Royal Glenora Club, the top seeds for the inaugural Edmonton Challenger – a combined ITF $25,000 event – are Arina Rodionova of Australia on the women’s side and Tunisia’s Aziz Dougaz in the men’s draw.
Rodionova, who is currently ranked No. 148 in the world, has four titles already this year, including a win at the W60 event in Barcelona, Spain. As for Dougaz (No. 246), he won his first title of the season on Sunday at the M15 event in Monastir, Tunisia. The highest-ranked Canadian in Edmonton will be women’s No. 3-seed Stacey Fung, who currently sits at No. 250 in the WTA rankings. Former World No. 29 Urszula Radwanska of Poland is also part of the women’s main draw. She’s joined by up-and-coming players Johanne Christine Svendsen of Denmark (No. 403) and Cadence Brace (No. 499), the 18-year-old Toronto native.
Liam Draxl, Justin Boulais, and Juan Carlos Aguilar will be the three Canadians competing in the men’s main draw.
Click here to see the full list of players taking part in the 2023 Edmonton National Bank Challenger. For more information, please visit the tournament’s website..
The event in Calgary, held out of the OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre, features a $60,000+H ITF Women’s Circuit event and an $80,000 ATP Challenger tournament. It is the largest combined men’s and women’s indoor tennis tournament in Canada.
Emina Bektas of the United States will be the top-seeded player in the women’s draw. Earlier this month, she reached a career-high ranking of No. 104 following a semi-final appearance at the Hana Bank Korea Open – a WTA 250 event held in Seoul, South Korea. Also stepping onto the courts in Calgary are Sabine Lisicki of Germany (former No. 12), and Canadians Katherine Sebov (No. 141) and Fung. Sebov captured her second title of the season on Sunday at the Challenger Banque Nationale de Saguenay.
Headlining the event on the men’s side is the defending champion and current World No. 79, Dominik
Koepfer of Germany. Joining him are fellow Top 150 players – Frenchman Benoit Paire (No. 123), Australia’s James Duckworth (No. 125), and Canadian Gabriel Diallo (No. 133). Last week, Diallo defeated former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem of Austria en route to winning the Bratislava Challenger. Diallo’s compatriots – Alexis Galarneau (No. 185), Steven Diez (No. 262), and Vasek Pospisil (No. 287) – are also part of the star-studded Calgary player list.
Click here to see the full list of players taking part in the 2023 Calgary National Bank Challenger. For more information, please visit the tournament’s website.
