Fourteen years after it became independent, Canada saw a surge in its sporting interests when tennis was given a new home to stay in. It was at Toronto where the Rogers Cup was first held in 1881. So what makes this event special apart from the fact that it is the third oldest tennis tournament after Wimbledon and the US Open?
Tobacco and Turf
The first tournament was known as the Canadian championships. This name stayed till 1967. In 1968, Rothmans International became the title sponsor. In the 1980s Player’s International bought the sponsorship rights. The woman’s equivalent was still known as the Canadian Open.
In 1997 du Maurier became the third tobacco company to sponsor the event; even the women’s event. When federal legislation passed a law to demote the promotion of tobacco, the sponsorship rights of de Maurier were ablated. From 2001-2004 the tournament was known as Canada Masters.
It was in 2005, when Canadian communication and media company, Rogers, took over as the title sponsor. Since then it is known as the Rogers Cup.
The event was played on clay till 1979. It switched to hard Decoturf courts later.
From venue to venues
1980 was the last year when both the men and women played at the same venue at the National Tennis Centre in Toronto.
From 1981, the tournament was held for the men at the Jarry Park stadium in Montreal. The women played at Toronto. Every year the venues alternate for both men and women.
Thr National Tennis Center was replaced by the better and the bigger Aviva Centre in 2004. Its main stadium, The Stadium, can hold upto 12500 people. The Jarry Park Stadium in Montreal became the Uniprix stadium in 1995. It holds upto 8000 people.
I asked Karl Hale, the current tournament director as to why the tournament was split into two venues and why the men and women can’t play at the same sporting area. Karl replied,
“Because that’s what makes our event exciting! Two cities get to tennis every year instead of one. It’s important to us to grow the sport and as all revenues from the event go back to growing tennis in Canada.”
Ballcrew
Every year Tennis Canada chooses 78 kids between the age of 11 to 15 who get an opportunity to serve as a ballboy or ballgirl in the tournament.
Trophy
On this special occasion of Canada’s 150th independence anniversary year, the tournament unveiled a new trophy which will be presented to the winner this year onwards.
“We are thrilled and honoured to have two industry-leading design companies, Yabu Pushelberg and Cambria, collaborate to produce what we know will be a world-class trophy. Rogers Cup is one of the most prestigious tournaments on the professional tours and we hope this trophy will not only serve to elevate the event, but also become synonymous with Rogers Cup and Canada. We can’t wait to see who will be the first champions to hold the new trophies.” – Karl Hale, tournament director
The tournament offers 1000 points to the men’s singles champion and 900 points to the women’s singles champion. The record for the most men’s singles titles belongs to Ivan Lendl, who won six titles at the tournament. In the women’s singles category, Chris Evert and Monica Seles have won four titles each.
