The start of the $100,000 National Bank Challenger is less than three weeks away: the men’s and women’s professional tournament will be held July 8-16 at Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club.
Coming to Winnipeg will be Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 2016 US Open junior boys’ singles champion. On June 18, Auger-Aliassime beat world no. 171 Mathias Bourge of France 6-4, 6-1 to become the seventh youngest player to win an ATP Challenger title. Auger-Aliassime’s victory came at the Open de Sopra Steria in Lyon, France.
Below is a list of the eight youngest players to have captured an ATP Challenger title (courtesy of Tennis Canada).
| Position | Player | Age | Tournament |
| 1 | Michael Chang | 15 years,7 months | Las Vegas, USA, 1997 |
| 2 | Richard Gasquet | 16 years,0 months | Montauban, FRA, 2002 |
| 3 | Bernard Tomic | 16 years,4 months | Melbourne, AUS, 2009 |
| 4 | Kent Carlsson | 16 years,7 months | New Ulm, GER, 1984 |
| 5 | Marcos Ondruska | 16 years,7 months | Durban, RSA, 1989 |
| 6 | Rafael Nadal | 16 years,9 months | Bartella, ITA, 2003 |
| 7 | Félix Auger-Aliassime | 16 years, 10 months | Lyon, FRA, 2017 |
| 8 | Novak Djokovic | 17 years,0 months | Budapest, HUN, 2004 |
The National Bank Challenger entry list also includes defending champion Go Soeda of Japan and last year’s finalist Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia. Among the Canadians competing will be 2016 Wimbledon junior boys’ singles champion Denis Shapovalov, Peter Polansky, and Frank Dancevic.
Ticket prices for the National Bank Challenger are $5 for a day pass and $25 for a week pass (free admission for July 8 and 9 qualifying rounds).
Volunteers are needed for the event in the areas of court services, player services, drivers and scorekeepers. Please contact Nicole at nicole@polartennis.com.
