This was confirmed by the manager of the National Bank of Montreal Open, Eugène Lapierre, on Thursday, as became known The newspaperthat he will vacate his position in favor of former player Valérie Tétreault, who is now acting as special adviser.
• Also read: National Bank Open: Valérie Tétreault succeeds Eugène Lapierre
The two main prospects also met the journalists during a press conference on Thursday at the Tennis Canada headquarters in the IGA Stadium. It is therefore a new stage of the event that begins with the arrival of Tétreault, former communications director of the national federation and former professional player.
“I can’t wait to start this new chapter in my career and pass on my love of tennis,” she said in a press release. I’ve lived and breathed tennis since I was a kid and my passion for the sport has only grown through my work at Tennis Canada. I am excited for the future and look forward to working with my colleagues and our sponsors, partners, volunteers and fans to continue to advance the tournament and our sport for the benefit of all Canadians.”
Face known to the public
Whoever tennis fans have been able to hear during numerous professional games on the TVA Sports channel will also become the primary spokesperson for tennis in Quebec and continue to oversee Tennis Canada’s national communications.
“I couldn’t be happier to pass the racquet to Valérie,” said Lapierre. I’ve known her since the beginning of her playing career, as a junior and as a top professional. I saw his passion for our sport, his skills, his professionalism and his innate ability to lead people. I look forward to continuing to work with her in the years to come.”
-Tétreault rose to No. 112 in the world in 2010 and has 13 Canadian junior titles. She was a member of Canada’s Billie Jean King Cup team from 2007 to 2010 and retired in late 2010 at the age of 22. She joined Tennis Canada in 2011 as Communications Coordinator and became Director of that department in 2018.
Eugène Lapierre devoted himself entirely to tennis
Archive photo, Martin Chevalier
By handing over his post as director of the National Bank Open in Montreal to Valérie Tétreault, Eugène Lapierre is closing a chapter in the history of the tournament he started at the beginning of this century.
A prominent figure in tennis in Quebec, he was in charge of the event from 2001 and will give up his seat to retire at the end of a successful 2022 edition following the pandemic and consequent cancellations. Except that the challenges presented themselves long before that. From the start he had big footsteps to fill, namely those of Richard Legendre, who tried his luck in politics.
“When I abruptly left Tennis Canada in the spring of 2001, I remember telling then-President of Tennis Canada Bob Moffatt that I believed Eugene was ready for the job… and I had never said it so well . With his creativity and vision, he always takes the Montreal tournament to new heights of excellence,” Legendre said of his successor in an interview broadcast on the National Bank Open website last year.
Certainly the former player has helped promote his sport at the provincial level, most notably as director of the Granby Challenger and the Canadian Junior Tennis Open in Repentigny. Additionally, the Granbyen had a ringside seat to say yes to holding a WTA 250 category event at his stronghold this season.
On the other hand, his involvement in the world of tennis began long before that, he has been part of the Tennis Canada team since 1993. If the Montreal tournament, formerly known as the Rogers Cup, has skyrocketed in popularity, it’s thanks in part to Lapierre.
“For 20 years, despite the many challenges and multiple upheavals of the two professional circles, Eugène has shown leadership and vision to constantly improve the National Bank Open and make it the meeting place par excellence for tennis fans, the WTA and the ATP.” The President of Tennis Quebec, Réjean Genois, told the same website.
The recent tournament, held in Montreal in the presence of the best players in the men’s world, attracted more than 237,000 people.
A project to finish
Obviously, the boss would have liked to do other things before he left, including the project to cover the IGA stadium with a retractable roof. As viewers have seen a number of times this year, rain can be frustrating for everyone involved and lead to major delays. Also, Lapierre mentioned to the Journal de Montréal in August that the project was settled with the levels of government before the outbreak of COVID-19.
With inflation and other factors not helping, the bill has since been increased and work on raising awareness among policymakers needs to be done again, he says.
“We also have to remember that we’ve lost a lot of money to the pandemic and that’s where we’re in the process of building back up. So we’re putting that on hold. It’s certain that our priorities lie elsewhere, but we certainly haven’t given up that hope for a covered stadium,” he recalled.