Photo: geniebouchard.com
Eugenie Bouchard after wining her match
Eugenie Bouchard’s run to the 2014 Australian Open semi-finals wasn’t just a personal best – it was a part of what looks to be the beginning of new era for Canadian tennis.
People all over the world have always associated Canada with winter sports and first of all with hockey. For many years tennis was a niche sport in Canada and until now there was no way for it to compete with hockey for the public attention. The situation has changed when two raising tennis stars Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil started to appear in the final stages of international tennis tournaments as well as on the top list of ATP world’s ranking.
Nima Naderi, social media manager at Tennis Connected said that the popularity of tennis has grown in recent years, while more and more Canadians were learning how to hold racket and exploring the game. The increase in the popularity of tennis won’t be possible without the successful performance of Canadian tennis players and the experts hope that the Australian Open 2014 could become a huge step in the right direction for Canadian tennis.
“With Raonic doing well, Pospisil doing well and Bouchard doing well…. I still think we (Canadians) have a long way to go to get to the level that the hockey has in Canada or some other winter sports,” admitted Nima Naderi.
The Australian Open 2014 has become a huge surprise for many tennis lovers as a young Canadian Eugenie Bouchard swept her opponents on the way to the first Grand Slam semi-finals in her career. The 19-year-old Bouchard became the first Canadian woman to reach the final four of a Grand Slam tournament in 30 years. The winner of 2012 junior Wimbledon and the 30th seeded Bouchard has made a quick transition from her junior career gaining significant power and depth to be at the same league with the best players in the world. Even though she lost her first Grand Slam semi-final to Li Na, she has definitely caught the attention of both her opponents and international audience.
“Canada has failed to have significant success in singles in tennis, and Bouchard’s coming success will not just get more kids playing tennis, but more tennis fans,” said a writer for Tennis Panorama News Brodie Elgin.
In the last few years the situation with tennis in Canada was getting better and better, but with the Bouchard’s performance its bond to move to a new level. Bouchard’s play in Australian Open has got the attention close to 2 million viewers for her quarterfinal match and over 3 million for her semi-final, it’s clear that Canadians are already aware of this rising star.
Nima Naderi admitted that if in future Eugenie Bouchard reaches the semi-final or the final of Wimbledon, Roland Garros or any other important tournament, there will be even more people watching her matches. The more matches she will play the better the connection between her and the audience will get and it will definitely help to raise her popularity and with it the popularity of Canadian tennis will gradually move up to a new level.
“If you are a tennis fan than you are already a tennis fan, but if you are a sports fan… for instance, I am not a Maple Leafs fan, but if they make to a Stanley Cup final I might start watching, because they are in a big stage and they are doing something good right,” said Nima Naderi.
There was a wave of fan’s attention in the social media after Bouchard’s play in Australian Open. The audience has already crowned her “the new golden girl of tennis” and “a good role model”. She also has her own fun club and tennis the experts predict a big future for her.
However, Mr. Naderi said even though he has heard some positive reaction on young Canadian exceptional play from fans and tennis players, it still was not as wide as many people thought. He also added that one success is not enough to become the hot topic among tennis fans and Bouchard’s results must be more consistent. She should become a champion, who is constantly fighting for majors like Serena Williams, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal and only then she will get undivided attention of Canadian audience.
Photo: milosraonicofficial.com
Crowd cheering for Milos Raonic at Davis Cup
Back in February 2011 Milos Raonic became a first Canadian tennis player to ever reach the top-40 of ATP ranking. Ever since then all Raonic’s achievements were the first and the best for Canadian tennis. He was also the first Canadian tennis player to catch an eye of the international audience and the first to spark an interest for tennis back at home. In 2013 Vasek Pospisil entered the tennis stage and jumped into top-40 in the ATP ranking. Now there were two Canadians among 40 best tennis players in the world and it was only the first sing of the incredible progress of Canadian tennis.
Nima Naderi and Brodie Elgin both say that the successful performances of Raonic, Pospisil and Bouchard will have a significant impact on popularity of tennis in Canada among young players and fans. At this point Canada already hosts two large scale tournaments in Montreal and Toronto, and the rise of top players on both the men’s and women’s tours will see tennis grow in this country like it never has before.
mariyasport 