New West St. Paul tennis hub offers space for pros along with up-and-coming Manitoba talent

When Karson Gloria lines up at the tennis net under the swelteringsun, even though the 13-year-old is focused on his job as a ball kid, he also gets an up-close look atthe type of pro players he hopes to become one day.

"I feel like watching the players just really inspires me to just play tennis really often and become really good," said Gloria.

He's one of many young people volunteering their time at the National Bank Challenger tournament, being held in this week at the new Tennis Manitoba Hub in West St. Paul, just north of Winnipeg.

The facility is tailored to the regulations required to host professional tournaments in the province, but will also serve as a launching pad for young people and feed the hunger of the province's growing tennis scene.

The new $1.4-million tennis facility, which has been in the works since 2016,opened two weeks ago withfive outdoor courts. Asixth is on the way.

"We have a world-class facility right now that is ready to develop world-class players," and also help grow the sport in the province, said Tennis Manitoba executive director Mark Arndt.

"Kids that can get scholarships and get schooling and make connections it just does wonders. Having something we can proudly present without limitations allows us to do anything we want to do as far as tennis is concerned."

Arndt, whohas been around the game since1981, says the exact number of players in Manitoba is hard to capture, but says he noticed more people took the sport up during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"That pause on the world allowed us to capture more people, and they just saw how tennis was what you can make it be," he said.

"That's the beauty about tennis. You can make it be as intense as you want, as casual as you want and play when you want."

Though Manitoba's new tennis hub is finally up and running, Arndt said he won't feel like the job is done until there are more indoor courts available for players in the province.

"Right now, similar climate cities around the world, they have one indoor tennis court for every 10,000 people," he said. "Our ratio is one indoor tennis court for 75,000 people, so we're way behind the 8-ball, and that's the future here."

Climbing the ladder

The court areas at facilities used for past Winnipeg National Bank Challenger events were a little bit too small for such a high-level event, Arndt said.

A challenger tournament is one level below anAssociation of Tennis ProfessionalsTour event, where the best men's professional players play. There's also a prize pool of $80,000, according to the event's website.

This year's field in Manitobafeaturesplayers who have reached the upper echelon of the sport. Belgian David Goffin, a former top-10ranked player in the world, was hailed as one of the event's top draws, withsix ATP titles to his name.

But there are also players like 24-year-old American Alafia Ayeni, who uses challenger events to accumulate points and move up in the sport.The ATP website currently has him listed as498th in the world, with a career high of 395.

"It's always great to have an opportunity to play. I love travelling on tourI love that this is able to be my job," he said.

"Losing is never fun. It's definitely a lesson learned for me. You can go against guys that are playing amazing, and you have to really be at the top of your game every week to get there."

Tennis is also a passion inKarson Gloria'sfamily. His mother, Lydia, has been playing for three decades, and says she can't live without it.

The Glorias live a five-minute drive from the new tennis facility, and say it will help expand the game in the area, said Lydia.

ForKarson, having the hub down the streetmakes him want to spread the joy of the sport he loves to his friends.

"I don't have a lot of friends that play tennis, but I've kind of been teaching them about it and stuff hopefully that they could join as well and be playing with me," he said.

The Winnipeg National Bank Challenger continues at the Tennis Manitoba Hub until Aug. 19.

WATCH | New tennis hub hosts National Bank Challenger tournament:

Manitoba tennis hub ready to welcome players

1 year ago

Duration 1:58

The new Tennis Manitoba Hub in West St. Paul is tailored to the regulations required to host professional tournaments in the province, but will also serve as a launching pad for young people and feed the hunger of the province's growing tennis scene.