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CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Canadian Tennis Stars Milos Raonic, Vasek Pospisil and Rebecca Marino will headline the Everyone Can Play Gala on Oct. 11 at the OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre (ATC). The Canadian tennis stars will be joined by former World No. 1 Doubles Player and 12x Grand Slam Doubles Champion Daniel Nestor. Nestor, the Calgary National Bank Challenger Tournament Ambassador, will play in the Pro-Am event on Oct. 12. He will also be joined by Raonic, Pospisil and Marino in the Pro-Am Event.

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Everyone Can Play is the ATC’s new barrier-free program which raises funds to support inclusive and accessible tennis programming for new Canadians,under-represented families and youth. The inaugural gala will raise funds to support families participating in tennis in the upcoming year and proceeds will benefit the Centre’s partner agencies to help deliver this programming within the Calgary community. The gala will feature some of Calgary’s top chefs with entertainment provided by Cowboys Entertainment Group. There will also be live and silent auctions featuring high value items. The Exhibition and Gala will commence at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 11.

“Being an immigrant who came to Canada at three years old, but just got into tennis at age nine, this type of initiative would have helped my family immensely and I think this initiative will help many families down the road,” said Milos Raonic, Canadian Tennis Player. “I am also excited to be there for the gala and Pro-Am and am incredibly proud to be a part of these events and support the initiative.”

Raonic is Canada’s highest ranked singles player of all time and is ranked as high as No. 3 in the world in singles. A Wimbledon Singles finalist in 2016, Raonic also made the Semi-Finals of the Australian Open the same year. In his career, Raonic has defeated the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Raonic is a holder of eight career titles on the ATP World Tour, was a 2024 Canadian Olympian and was recently named to Canada’s Davis Cup Team.

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“We are delighted to have Milos Raonic, Vasek Pospisil, Rebecca Marino and Daniel Nestor at this year’s inaugural Everyone Can Play Gala event,” said Danny Da Costa, CEO, The OSTEN & VICTOR Tennis Centre and Tournament Director, Calgary National Bank Challenger. “These four athletes are trailblazers for Canadian Tennis. Collectively, their contributions to Canadian Tennis have helped inspire Canada’s golden generation to achieve international excellence.”

Joining Raonic in the tennis Exhibition and Pro-Am is Canadian Tennis star, Vasek Pospisil, who will return to the Calgary National Bank Challenger for the fourth consecutive year. Pospisil, who has been ranked as high as No. 25 in the world in singles and No. 4 in doubles, was named Postmedia’s Male Athlete of the Year for 2019. Pospisil has wins over Top 20 players including Daniil Medvedev, Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Richard Gasquet. He has also been in the finals of three ATP Tour events, including two ATP Tour 250 events in 2020 in Sofia and Montpellier, and an ATP Tour 500 event in Washington D.C. in 2014. Pospisil was part of Canada’s Davis Cup winning 2022 World Championship team. Pospisil will also compete in the Exhibition, Pro-Am and Challenger events.

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Also competing in her maiden Calgary National Bank Challenger is Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino. Marino, currently ranked No. 2 in Canada and No. 139 in the world will compete in the Exhibition, Pro-Am and Challenger event. In her career, Marino has been ranked as high as No. 38 in the world in singles on the WTA Rankings, holds 15 ITF career singles titles, and was a finalist of a WTA 250 event. She was a member of the 2023 Canada’s BJK Cup World Championship Team and, in her career, has wins over Top 10 players including Venus Williams, Caroline Garcia and Madison Keys. In 2022, Marino reached the third round of the US Open Singles event.

“I’m beyond excited to be a part of the Calgary National Bank Challenger and the Everyone Can Play Gala. The growth of professional tennis in Western Canada is of enormous importance to me and I can’t wait to step onto the court in Calgary”, said Rebecca Marino.  

The fifth edition of the Calgary National Bank Challenger will return to the OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre from October 13 to 20, 2024. Earlier this year, the Calgary National Bank Challenger won the 2023 Canadian Sport Tourism Prestige Award for sponsorship initiative. The Canadian Sport Tourism Awards recognize Canada’s best national and international events.

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The Challenger organizers are also thrilled to announce several new and returning initiatives taking place at this year’s event:

• The Calgary National Bank Challenger Core Shopping Centre promotion presented by Holt Renfrew will return from Sept. 30 to Oct.9, 2024, from 11:00a.m.-1:30p.m. daily at the CORE Shopping Centre. This free event provides Calgarians the opportunity to try out their tennis skills, play with the pros and win free tickets to this year’s event. A full player list will be announced onsite Oct. 1 during a kick-off news conference at 10:30 a.m.
• Calgary National Bank Challenger Community Day is returning Oct.12 providng free admission to the tournament and Calgary National Bank Challenger Pro-Am event.
• This year’s Calgary National Bank Challenger will also be live streamed on the CBC Sports YouTube page. The event will also be live streamed on the ATP World Tour and International Tennis Federation websites.

Tickets for The Challenger start at $20.00 per day and are available at: https://calgary.nationalbankchallenger.com.

Tickets for the EVERYONE CAN PLAY GALA are $250.00 per ticket, which includes the exhibition match and gala. A $100.00 charitable tax receipt is also provided. Tickets for the exhibition only are also available. To purchase tickets, visit https://www.showpass.com/everyone-can-play-gala/.

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For more information about the ATC, please visit http://www.albertatenniscentre.ca/.

ABOUT OSTEN & VICTOR ALBERTA TENNIS CENTRE
Founded in 2013 and opened in 2016, the Osten & Victor Alberta Tennis Centre is a staple of the Acadia and Calgary community. Recognized as one of Canada’s premier tennis facilities, the Centre was championed by local funders with the support of Tennis Canada. The 13-court, state-of-the-art, family-friendly tennis facility is in the heart of Acadia (SE Calgary) and covers over 4.22 acres. The non-profit Centre has quickly established itself as the benchmark for facility design and operation in Canada. The Centre has serviced over 200,000 Albertans since its opening and is built to international competition standards. It is a highly sought-after tournament destination and hosts multiple international events each year, including the Calgary National Bank Challenger ATP event. The Centre won Growth Compass People’s Choice Award at the 2024 Scale-Up Awards.

For more information visit www.albertatenniscentre.ca.

ABOUT THE CALGARY NATIONAL BANK CHALLENGER: 
The Calgary National Bank Challenger is the largest combined men’s and women’s indoor tennis tournament in Canada. The Calgary National Bank Challenger has quickly emerged as one of the best ATP Challenger events in the world and one of Alberta’s premier sporting events. In 2022, the Challenger hosted our inaugural International Tennis Federation (ITF) Women’s Pro Circuit $60K Event featuring many of the best up-and-coming and established female players in the world. In 2023, the Calgary National Bank Challenger became the first International Tennis Federation W60 event in Canada to offer paid hospitality to female players.

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Past participants of the Calgary National Bank Challenger event include Former World #2 and 2022 US & French Open Singles Finalist Casper Ruud of Norway, 2024 Wimbledon Singles Semi-Finalist Lulu Sun of New Zealand, 2023 Calgary National Bank Champion and Former World #12 and 2013 Wimbledon Singles Finalist Sabine Lisicki of Germany, Canadian tennis star and former Wimbledon Doubles Champion and World #25, Vasek Pospisil and 2023 Calgary National Bank Challenger Champion Liam Draxl of Canada.

For more information, visit: https://calgary.nationalbankchallenger.com.

PLEASE CONTACT:
Danny Da Costa, Tournament Director & Chief Executive Officer
Calgary National Bank Challenger & OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre
Tel: +1 (403) 472 2223
Email: ddacosta@albertatenniscentre.ca

MEDIA CONTACT:
Amanda Upshaw
Brookline Public Relations, Inc.
Tel: +1 (403) 389-2291
Email: aupshaw@brooklinepr.com

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