Tennis Canada announces cancellation of six Challenger events due to COVID-19

TORONTO — Six Challenger-tier tennis tournaments scheduled to be held in Canada this year have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tennis Canada announced Friday that the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger men’s event, the women’s Challenger event in Saskatoon, the National Bank Challenger in Granby, Que., and the Odlum Brown VanOpen in Vancouver will not be held in 2021.

Meanwhile, the Calgary National Bank Challenger and the women’s Challenger event in Fredericton will not take place in 2021 following their initial postponement, which was announced in October.

So far, Tennis Canada has announced the postponement or cancellation of 14 Challenger events, which are a tier below events on the ATP and WTA tours, since the start of 2020 due to COVID-19.

Tennis Canada said there are still plans to hold Challenger events in Saguenay, Que., (October 18-24) and Toronto (October 25-31). 

The Drummondville National Bank Challenger, originally scheduled for March 2021, may still go ahead later this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2021.

The Canadian Press