Some of the world’s best tennis stars have arrived in Montreal to compete in the National Bank Open presented by Rogers and some young tennis players from Quebec are getting a chance to learn from the best. At the IGA stadium on Tuesday, 25 young players from the Quebec City area hit the court as part of Rogers’ Youth Clinics, alongside the Aliassime Tennis Academy and the Aleksandra Wozniak Tennis Academy. They learned tennis skills through an on-court clinic alongside Tennis Canada professional coaches and Canadian tennis star Félix Auger-Aliassime.
He joined kids on the court to inspire and take their tennis game to the next level. “I think the main thing is seeing me in person and seeing me so close. I mean, at this age, I didn’t have a luxury to see a professional player, to see some of my idols in person,” said Auger-Aliassime.
“And always felt like, ‘Oh, this was for other people, and this like a movie,’ you know? It wasn’t real. So, I think for me to be here in person and to be so close to them, it’s like, okay, he’s one of us. It puts the dream a little bit closer than if it was always on TV, right.
” Sofia Lucky travelled from Quebec City to participate in the tennis clinic. The nine-year old aspiring tennis player said that Auger-Aliassime is a great player. “He seemed like a nice person,” said Lucky.
“We did a game, everyone hit a ball with Felix. It was really fun. Then we get autographs, and he signed our balls.
” The tennis clini.