Professional players around the world compete on the fields of Omnium National Bank, in Montreal and Toronto, from July 26 to August 7. If this tournament is a great opportunity for Canadian athletes to play at home, the director of the tennis division at Management Loisirs Plus, Vincent Millot, believes that there should be many more tournaments in Canada and Quebec.
“Unfortunately, we have always sorely missed tournaments in Canada. By force of things, from the moment when you cannot regularly give young Quebec and Canadian talents the opportunity to be able to show themselves on the international scene at home, it requires a lot of costs and it becomes more complicated, “explains the director.
Between transport and accommodation costs, this can actually prove to be very expensive to play a match abroad. “When you start your career and you don’t necessarily have many means, you have to move very far so you have to spend a lot of money and these are parameters that come to play in the wrong direction.” Thus, having more professional tournaments in the country would allow young Canadian players to spend less while playing more and accumulating experience according to Mr. Millot.
No more tournaments, not so simple
Organizing an international tournament is obviously not so simple. The costs can be very high for Quebec clubs and winter can add a layer of complexity since adequate interior installations are needed. “Reality is that it is very complicated for clubs to make tournaments. We don’t only want to be played games. We also want there to be comfort for spectators, something visually attractive. This is what comes to give the more expensive side to the tournaments and that’s what brakes a little. ”
However, these challenges did not prevent Vincent Millot from relaunching an international tennis tournament in Sherbrooke last spring after several years of stopping. “We wanted to redo this event. It was important for the city, for people, for sport, says the director. We will continue to try to go in this direction. For youth, it is important to be able to see close to professionals. For athletes who want to start, it’s important to be able to play. ”
The efforts of Mr. Millot to strengthen the tennis world in Sherbrooke seem to bear fruit. The proof: some professional players train in Estrie. This is the case of Juan Carlos Aguilar who is currently participating in the omnium National Bank in Toronto or Gabriel Diallo who has already trained in Sherbrooke in his early days in the professional circuit.
“We have a lot to work, a lot to develop, but we are on the right path,” says the director of the tennis division at Management Loisirs Plus. We are putting Sherbrooke on the map You tennis! “
Vincent Millot aims to give players as many opportunities as possible to improve by participating in professional tournaments. Nothing has yet been decided, but the idea of organizing other tournaments certainly trot him in his head. “We had a male tournament and we also work to have a female tournament because we have more and more little girls in Sherbrooke who come to play. It is important this possibility for young girls who make sport to be able to come to see players from around the world. ”
