Airdrie’s tennis community is set to welcome two tournaments to the city this weekend.
The Airdrie and District Tennis Association is hosting the Tennis Alberta Advanced Tour at the East Lake Park courts on July 9, featuring the top eight and nine-year-old players in the province. The next day, the ADTA will host a Rogers Rookie Tour event, designed for entry-level players, at the East Lake courts
The Advanced Tour, which began in May and will run until August, and features boys and girls in a singles’ tournament format, is mostly held at courts in Calgary and Edmonton. But now that Airdrie has the East Lake courts, it is continuing to draw more and more events.
“It’s great because we’re on the map, so it’s Edmonton, Calgary and Airdrie now,” said ADTA president Chris Simnett. “It’s the courts that let us do it. Tennis Alberta loves our courts and the players like them. Tennis Alberta keeps asking me if I’ll run tournaments and I keep saying yes.”
Nine-year-old Noah Esajobar, who moved here from The Netherlands earlier this year, will be the lone Airdronian entered in the event.
“He’s quite a good little player,” Simnett said. “He’s been playing in our community tennis league and has played in of these (Advance Tour stops) already. The goal is to get more kids at that level. And we’re starting to get there.”
About 15 players from Airdrie will be competing at the Rogers Rookie Tour event, where every player is guaranteed three matches. Simnett hopes to have enough participants to run U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16 and U-18 age levels.
“Everyone gets the same amount of matches,” he said. “It’s still a competition, but more designed for the entry-level players to have fun.”
The ADTA will also host a Tennis Alberta Future Stars Tour U-9 tournament on Aug. 20, and another Rogers Rookie Tour event on Aug. 21, followed by the Tennis Alberta Junior Challenger Circuit, where Esajobar and Airdrie’s Michelle Rodriguez are expected to compete, between Aug. 25 and 28.
