Club Avantage Multi-Sports de Québec is teeming with crowds on Monday morning. For the fourth time in two years, the Aliassime Academy, which holds its activities there, is organizing a junior tennis tournament bringing together several players who want to be among the elite of tomorrow.
There is a little bit of everything on the five playing fields of the popular sports club, where games are played at the same time.
Player from Félix Auger-Aliassime’s father’s academy, who came here to gain experience. Others are among the top-ranked Canadians in their age group, including talented Quebecers.
Athletes from China, Portugal and Ukraine were also attracted by the quality of the organization.
And there is Mirindra Razafinarivo, who has been living with Sam Aliassime for three months, along with several other teenagers for whom he prepares meals morning, noon and night.
At 15 years old, the young thug is one of the members of Team Aliassime, a project he created Mr. Aliassime last yearand which aims to transform the lives of young Africans through tennis.
Photo Jessica Lapinski
Sam Aliassime’s goal seems to have already been partially achieved for Mirindra, who first left her native Madagascar last fall for Ivory Coast, where a talent identification camp was taking place.
“The feedback I get from parents is that it is very positive,” says the father and former coach of the 14th ranked player in the world. They thought they were just coming to learn to play tennis, but it’s more than that. It’s about education, about living a good life and discovering Quebec. We want to mess everything up.”
A rarity for her
Mirindra Razafinarivo has been accepted into the main draw of this “J100” tournament, but she too is gaining experience on the field.
She lost in the first round on Monday. The result is not surprising: In Africa, Sam Aliassime said last December, young people are not necessarily used to competing with talent from almost every corner of the world. He wanted to offer them this opportunity too.
But even though this result was not unexpected, Mirindra was visibly disappointed. In an interview shortly after her match, she mechanically played with her cell phone without looking at it while speaking in a quiet voice.
This is undoubtedly because tennis is close to her heart, which she began practicing seriously late in life, at the age of 10, to follow in her big brother’s footsteps.
Enough for her to leave her sunny island, where the sport is not particularly popular, and settle down for six months, about a 26-hour flight from home.
“The level of tennis here is far above what I could have expected,” she says. It’s a little difficult to navigate the city, but I like it.”
“I was really lucky”
The defeat was difficult to swallow, but he clearly enjoyed the experience. If one would think that at 15, Mirindra Razafinarivo would miss the people close to her, instead she claims to have gotten used to the distance.
“Especially because there are several young people here together and it makes us feel less alone,” she explains.
And this experience is also an invaluable opportunity, she says.
“Fewer and fewer players are playing tennis in Madagascar,” emphasizes Mirindra. I was really lucky to find a selection here. Because there is no real opportunity to develop at home.”