A couple of big names have confirmed they will take up the challenge of the city’s top tennis tournament later this fall.
On Wednesday, it was announced that former world No. 12 Sabine Lisicki has signed on to compete in the Calgary National Bank Challenger.
News of the German’s pending appearance follows last week’s announcement that former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori is scheduled to participate on the men’s side of the ATP Challenger Tour stop, Nov. 6-13 at the OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre.
“We are thrilled,” said Danny Da Costa, tournament director and tennis centre CEO. “Sabine is an international star and one of the most recognizable female tennis players in the world. To have her with us this year in our inaugural women’s event is fantastic.”
Lasicki, 33, made her return to the WTA Tour in May 2022 after 18 months on the sidelines due to ACL surgery.
A holder of four WTA singles titles, Lisicki reached the Wimbledon final in 2013, where she lost to Marion Bartoli. She also reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2011 and the tourney’s quarter-finals on three other occasions (2009, ’12, ’14).
Lisicki has defeated several world No. 1 singles players in her career, including Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki. The talent from Germany is also the female record-holder for the fastest officially recorder serve on the WTA Tour at 131 mph.
“I’ve heard a lot of great things about Calgary and look forward to coming for the first time,” Lisicki said. “People in Canada are always nice, and the crowd at tournaments is amazing, which makes it fun to play.”
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Nishikori, 32, became the first confirmed player for the Calgary National Bank Challenger, when he announced his trip to the city last week.
The Japanese veteran was a U.S. Open singles finalist in 2014. In his career, Nishikori has defeated Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Canadian stars Milos Raonic, Felix Auger-Alaissaime and Denis Shapovalov in his illustrious career. He won the bronze medal in singles at the 2016 Olympic Games.
“We are fortunate to have him with us in Calgary,” Da Costa said. “Kei is returning to the tour in the next few weeks, and he is making Calgary one of his first events since surgery.
“Nishikori is a baseliner. He is very fast and extremely talented. He is also a global star.
“Kei is only one of a few players to record wins over Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, so to have him here in Calgary is massive for our event and for tennis.”
A full player list for the Calgary event will be announced within the next few weeks.
“With the recent success of our 2018 Calgary National Bank Challenger semi-finalist Casper Ruud, who is now No. 2 in the world and now with Kei and Sabine playing, our event is gaining some traction in the city,” added Da Costa. “We hope our event will become a must-attend event in Calgary and hope fans and the business community will continue to support the event.”
For more info and tickets to the event, visit calgary.nationalbankchallenger.com.
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