(Montreal) Over the years, the mission of what is now called the National Bank Open has always been the same: to promote and develop tennis in the country. It is a mission, says Eugène Lapierre, which has motivated him during all his years at the helm of the event, and which will remain at the heart of the new chapter of his life.
“What I like a lot is knowing what you’re doing with the tournament. We don’t just work for the tournament. We work to develop the sport, to popularize a sport that people will want to practice all their lives. We want to increase the number of fans in Canada, and that is not us who do it, it is the other half of the organization, Tennis Canada and the development sector.
Among his new targets, Lapierre wants to see an increase in the number of public indoor tennis clubs in the province.
” There’s not enough. To develop the sport, at some point, it will take accessibility. And there, currently, the number of private clubs compared to the number of public clubs year-round is not equal at all. There are a few. There is one in Rimouski, there is one in Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, there is one in Drummondville. Repentigny is a bit like that too. The prime example is the IGA stadium. It’s a public club, it’s not expensive, it’s full all the time, “illustrates Lapierre.
“If we want to continue to develop the sport and give young people the chance to have fun and see what they can do hitting balls against each other, there should be some have more. Accessibility should be improved. That’s what I’m trying to see. We’re starting a bit far, but we’ll see what we can do on that side. »
Moreover, even if he has handed over the reins of the Montreal organization to Valérie Tétreault, Lapierre will retain responsibilities in international tennis.
“It’s a small committee of four or five people. We are going to bring initiatives, ideas,” said Lapierre, who will step down from his position on the Tournament Council.
Lapierre, who is recognized for his progressive ideas, did not hesitate to accept Simon’s invitation, because the project interests him and he considers that it has potential. Furthermore, he is aware that any new initiative will not happen overnight.
“We’ll have to see how we choose them, how we want to test them. We must bring the players into the portrait, we must bring television into the portrait. At some point, you have to bring the ATP into the picture because there are so many mixed tournaments and you can’t do something on one side and not do it on the other side. It will be an interesting file to follow and develop. »