International tennis talent challenges local stars on home court

A diverse group of international and national tennis players are congregating at the Parkinson Recreation Centre today through to Sunday to compete for ATP points and a total of US$25,000.

The Kelowna Futures Professional Tennis Tournament - which has hosted household tennis names like Milos Raonic and Okanagan native, Vasek Pospisil - is continuing for its seventh year under the watchful eye of Joachim Nierfeld, the tournament director since the tournament’s inauguration.

The singles and doubles men’s tournament will host players from eight different nations across the globe with professional players and NCAA college players in attendance.

Despite the prize money waiting patiently to be divided between the victorious players - the winner receiving a little under US$4,000 - Nierfeld says the players are less concerned with the payout.

"They're playing mostly not for the money, but for the ATP points they can earn here,” Nierfeld explained.

“The points earned here are exactly the same that those won at Wimbledon or any other bigger tournament."

The draw is made! Head over to the “match center” section of our website to see who will be playing! Link in bio 🎾💥 . . . @kush_tennis @jcaragone @stevendiez91 @gerardovillasenor @semver @samuelmonettetennis @thaikwiat @brandon_holt98 @alexioshalebian @bensigouin @alexsday

A post shared by Kelowna Futures Tennis (@kelownafutures) on Jun 21, 2018 at 11:19am PDT

Local tennis star, Calvin Thalheimer, received the wild card spot from Nierfeld this year and will be representing Kelowna, along with Canadians Stephen Diez (Montreal-product, ranked 330th in the world), Samuel Monette (Montreal, #436), Benjamin Sigouin (Vancouver, #840) and Alexander Day (Vancouver, #963).

The tournament provides more than just attention to Kelowna’s growing tennis community. The non-profit event provides funding for grassroots kids tennis programs in city and has garnered about $22,000 since its creation.

“This tournament is a non-profit here so any money made will either stay in the tournament, to make it better for next year, or go to grassroots kids tennis programs in Kelowna," commented Nierfeld.

Attendance is free today, but ticket prices slowly increase throughout the week until the finals on Sunday which are $20 at the door but free for children.

"We have world-class tennis players here and it's worth coming out to watch," added Nierfeld

For more information on schedules, how to volunteer, ticket sales and the tournament, click these links.