Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth, development and promotion of tennis in Canada and a vision to be a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier National Bank Open presented by Rogers WTA and ATP Tour events, four professional ATP and ITF sanctioned events and financially supports four other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates junior national training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information on Tennis Canada please visit our website at: www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebook and X.
Purpose
To champion positive tennis experiences
Vision
To be a world-leading tennis nation
Mission
To lead the growth, development, and promotion of tennis in Canada
Values
We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation, excellence, and accountability
Board of directors
Mr. Kruyt became Senior Advisor to Power Corporation of Canada in January 2018. He is also a member of the Power Pacific Investment Management Board of Directors.
Mr. Kruyt was appointed Chairman of the Board of the McGill University Health Centre in 2017. He is also a director of the Canadian Tennis Association since 2019, and its Chairman since May 2022.
When he joined Power Corporation in 1981, Mr. Kruyt served as Executive Assistant to Mr. Paul G. Desmarais, who, at the time, was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kruyt took over as President and Chief Executive Officer of Power Broadcasting Incorporated from 1987 to 2000 and President and Chief Executive Officer of Power Technology Investment Corporation from 2000 until 2009.
He was Chairman of Power Pacific Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of Power Corporation, one of the Corporation’s equity investment funds from 1996 to 2020. Mr. Kruyt was also Vice-President of Power Corporation from 1996 to 2017 and Vice-Chairman of Power Energy from 2012 to 2019.
He was a director of Potentia Renewables from 2010 to 2021 and of The Lion Electric Company from 2017 to 2021. Mr. Kruyt was also a director of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada from 2016 to 2020, of Great West Lifeco Incorporated from 2003 to 2008 and of Bellus Incorporated from 2002 to 2009.
Mr. Kruyt was a director of Bombardier Sifang Power (Qingdao) Transportation Limited and of La Presse Limited from 1985 to 2016. He also served as an alternate director on the board of CITIC Pacific Limited in Hong Kong from 2003 to 2014.
He was Chairman of the Canada China Business Council from 2003 to 2018 and director of Eagle Creek Renewable Energy Inc from 2013 to 2018. He served on the board of the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation and of the Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations (CIRANO). Mr. Kruyt was also a member of the Board of Governors of Concordia University from 2000 to 2005 and served as Chairman from 2005 to 2012.
He was a member of the advisory board of the School of Business at Memorial University of Newfoundland, a director of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and chaired the Government Task Force on Digital Radio in 1992.
Mr. Kruyt obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Concordia University and an MBA from the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD).
Jennifer Bishop is a partner in the Corporate/Commercial Group of Aird Berlis LLP. Her extensive business law experience and dedication to providing creative solutions make her a trusted advisor to client teams. Jennifer advises on mergers and acquisitions, the negotiation and drafting of major commercial agreements and provides strategic advice on domestic, cross-border and international corporate matters. Jennifer works with private sector clients across a variety of industries, including retail, packaged and consumer goods, hospitality, manufacturing, transportation, technology, healthcare, insurance, sports and media.
Jennifer has been recognized as one of Lexpert’s Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers Under 40 and is listed in Best Lawyers in Canada for Corporate Law. In law school she was awarded the J.W. Whiteside Award for outstanding volunteer commitment to under-served legal communities. Jennifer is a frequent speaker on matters relating to corporate law, governance, leadership and gender equity, and is an officer of the International Bar Association’s Women’s Leadership Group.
Jennifer’s passion for sports law is driven by her own experience competing at the national and international levels. She serves on many boards and holds key leadership positions in the sporting world. In 2020, Jennifer was appointed to one of the most prestigious committees of the International Tennis Federation, the Billie Jean King Cup Committee. As a junior, Jennifer was awarded the National Achievement Award for Amateur Sport in Canada and was granted an NCAA Division 1 tennis scholarship to the University of South Florida, during which time her team was four-time conference champions. Jennifer remains an active player, is past president of the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club and fuels her passion for giving back to sport as Chair of the Board of the Doug Philpott Inner-City Children’s Tennis Foundation.
Josée Noiseux holds two Bachelor degrees, one in Civil Law from McGill University and the other in Biology from the University of Sherbrooke. She is a lawyer, having been a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright for more than 20 years where she practiced in litigation, construction law and professional liability. She is a member of the Quebec Bar and the Canadian Bar Association. She also took part in several issue tables and committees on the evolution of the practice of law and governance.
Ms. Noiseux is not only well-known for her leadership skills and business savvy, but also for her keen interest and involvement in philanthropic work. She is President and CEO of the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Montreal Contemporary Art Museum and a former director of the St-Mary’s Hospital Foundation, as well as Global Goodness and member of the McGill University Advisory Committee.
Prior to her role at the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation, she was the General Manager and Head of Advancement for the Montreal branch of the NewCities Foundation, an organization dedicated to making cities more socially, technologically, scientifically and artistically innovative.
Richard Harris is an accomplished businessman, with 30 years of experience in North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe, including 15 years at the CEO and Chairman level. He is a Partner and Managing Director at Tricor Pacific Founders Capital Inc., a family firm that invests its partners’ own capital and focuses on applying operating know-how in North American food businesses in order to build thriving businesses over the long term. Mr. Harris acts as Executive Chairman of each portfolio company, as well as focusing on strategy, people and operations, monitoring performance, and making investment decisions.
Prior to creating Tricor Pacific Founders Capital with his partners, Mr. Harris was the CEO of Golden Boy Foods, a leading North American private label food manufacturer which was sold to Post Cereals in 2014 for $323 million. Before then, he also was CEO of Coca-Cola Drikker AS, a Coca-Cola bottler with revenues of more than $450 million. He has many years of experience in consumer marketing roles as well, including responsibility in his early career for Coca-Cola’s marketing and event activation portfolio in the United Kingdom at sports and entertainment properties like Wimbledon, the British Open, FIFA World Cup, Team England, and Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter.
Mr. Harris obtained his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Oxford and M.B.A. from Imperial College’s Management School at the University of London. He has prior non-profit advisory experience as the Chair of Governance at Collingwood School and as a Faculty Advisory Board member at UBC Sauder School of Business.
A tennis fan, Mr. Harris plays recreationally three to five times a week at Hollyburn Country Club. He lives in West Vancouver with his wife Ailsa, who plays inter-club tennis across the province, and two teenage children Daisy and Joseph.
Ula Ubani is Chief Ethics Officer at BMO Financial Group. She also leads the team responsible for unresolved customer complaints in Canada. Over the years she has held numerous positions at BMO from International Banking to Risk to Investor Relations. A strong DEI advocate, in 2021 she was recognized by Women’s Executive Network (WXN) as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.
Ula is known for her exceptional strategic insight and keen sense of judgement. She was one of the architects of BMO’s initial Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) strategy and carbon-neutral goal setting, which included a commitment to managing own carbon emissions and an enhanced focus on social issues.
Ula is generous with her knowledge and time and is a frequent public speaker and regular mentor. She has significant Board experience in a broad range of industries including sport, international aid, and community issues with a focus on strategy, governance, finance, and succession. She is a member of the Shorefast Board of Directors and the Advisory Board for the W. Michael Hoffman Centre for Business Ethics at Bentley University.
A Montreal native and avid sports fan, Ula is now based in Toronto. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Concordia University and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
A former professional tennis player, Sebastien LeBlanc has been a successful businessman for many years and is currently a partner at COTE 100, a firm specializing in portfolio management. He joined the Tennis Canada Board of Directors in May 2017.
LeBlanc holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Université du Quebec à Montreal (UQAM). He joined COTE 100 in 1997 and has been there ever since, also becoming a shareholder in 2010. Today, he is a partner, head of operations, and head of business development. He oversees the day-to-day administration as well as business development, sales, and marketing initiatives within the firm.
As a tennis player, LeBlanc achieved many positive results. He was a top junior player, capturing two Grand Slam doubles titles – Junior French Open and Junior Wimbledon, both with fellow Canadian Sebastien Lareau in 1990. These were the first Grand Slam titles ever won by a Canadian. He also competed for Canada at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games and represented Canada in Davis Cup competition. He was inducted into the National Bank Open Hall of Fame in 2013, celebrated by Montreal tennis fans for his big win over Tim Henman in the 1995 National Bank Open and making the doubles quarter-finals in 1991.
He has remained involved in tennis since his playing days. A past president of the Friends of Tennis Foundation, he also organizes the annual Coupe Le Blanc, an international tournament for kids under 12 that has been running for more than 10 years in Quebec.
LeBlanc lives in St-Bruno, Quebec with his wife Christine LeBlanc and four children.
Since her graduation from UBC with her MD in 1978, Penny Ballem, MD FRCP FCAHS, has had a diverse career in the health and government sector as a senior administrator, academic medical practitioner and teacher/researcher.
From 1985 to 1991 Dr. Ballem served as the Deputy Medical Director of the Canadian Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service for BC and Yukon. For the next 10 years, she served as the Senior Vice President, responsible for operations at BC Women’s Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre. In 2001, Dr. Ballem was appointed Deputy Minister of Health for the Province of BC. She was the longest-serving Deputy Minister in the Health portfolio (2001-2006) in BC and one of the longest in Canada.
From 2008 to 2015, Dr. Ballem served as the City Manager of the City of Vancouver. During her tenure as City Manager, the City of Vancouver hosted the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Following on this experience, Dr. Ballem worked with key local partners to found Sport Hosting Vancouver Partnership which works to attract and organize national and international sport events in the city. Recent events include the Grey Cup (2011, 2014), Davis Cup ties (2012-2014), FIFA Women’s World Cup (2015), the Rugby 7’s World Cup Event (annual event starting in 2016), the 2016 World Masters Games and the Vancouver Showcase NCAA Basketball Tournament in 2017.
Dr. Ballem is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at UBC, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and a recent appointee as a Senior Fellow in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Institute for Health System Management and Evaluation at University of Toronto. She has received significant public recognition for her work in medicine and public service including the Queens Golden Jubilee Medal for Public Service, the 2012 Wallace Wilson Award at UBC for High Ethical Standards and Leadership in the Profession, the Marion Powell Award from Women’s College Hospital for leadership in Women’s Health, and the Cannell Award from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada for her contributions to leadership in reproductive health and others.
In addition to being a member of the Tennis Canada Board, she also serves on the Boards of StreetoHome Foundation and the Heart and Stroke Foundation National Board.
James G. Bagnell started his career in his family business, and soon after, became President and CEO of a group of companies specializing in providing Products and Industrial services throughout Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. As this business expanded and prospered, James established and built several environmental companies specializing in Waste Management Services in the Oil/Gas and Aviation sectors. These companies eventually expanded across Canada, the United States, Europe, and S.E Asia. One of these companies, Inland Technologies Canada Inc., with its head office in Truro, Nova Scotia, employs thousands offering aircraft de-icing, fluid recovery and ground handling services.
After divesting of most of these businesses, James remains active today serving on several Boards and as CEO of Intec Investment Holdings Inc., a company actively involved in real estate development and venture capital for regional startup businesses, including investment to help build two indoor tennis facilities in Nova Scotia. Throughout his career, James was a recipient of several business and export achievement awards.
James and his wife Nicole reside in the Halifax region. In addition to being a horse racing enthusiast, James is a tennis fan, and enjoys playing tennis with family and friends, and spending time with his two grandsons.
Mohamed Ismath completed his education in Sri Lanka, becoming an accountant and later working in the country’s financial and banking industry. He then immigrated to Winnipeg.
Mohamed worked as a senior executive in the Canadian automotive industry for thirty years and is now retired. Using his skills as a senior executive, he helped enhance the development of tennis in Manitoba at both recreational and high-performance levels for over 30 years. He currently serves on the board of directors of Tennis Manitoba as Past President and serves as Past Chair of the Council of Provinces for Tennis Canada.
His passion for tennis stems from his own love for the game. He started playing tennis at a young age and was able to see his kids play to the level of Division 1 college tennis.
Mohamed is also passionate about celebrating diversity and promoting cultural understanding. He has volunteered for Folklorama since 1998, serving on the Board of Directors since 2007, including two terms as President. Mohamed has also served as either Director or Chair of the Board for several not-for-profit organizations in their pursuit of more efficient program delivery and good governance.
Jordan Jacobs joined the Tennis Canada Board of Directors in May 2021.
He is currently the Managing Partner and co-founder of Radical Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in Artificial Intelligence companies. His career has included many high-profile roles including as co-CEO and co-founder of AI company Layer 6 (acquired by TD Bank in 2018), and co-founder of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. He is also currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). Previously Mr Jacobs was a tech, media and sports lawyer, and founded SpyBox Media, through which he executively produced the award-winning TV series Spectacle alongside Sir Elton John and Elvis Costello.
Mr Jacobs fell in love with tennis as a child and was even a ball kid at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers as well as Davis Cup ties. In addition to regularly attending the National Bank Open, he has travelled to various tennis events across the world as a fan, including Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, the US Open, Indian Wells and the Laver Cup. His two sons are tennis enthusiasts and promising players, with both currently part of high-performance academies.
Sam Sebastian is the President & CEO of Pelmorex Corp., the parent company of The Weather Network. Pelmorex is a market leader in operating multi-platform TV, Web and Mobile services in weather-related information categories under the leading brands; The Weather Network, MétéoMédia, eltiempo.es and Clima. The company also operates Canada’s National Alerting Aggregation and Dissemination System, Alert Ready.
Before joining Pelmorex, Sam was the VP & Managing Director of Google Canada, from 2013-2017, where he was responsible for Google’s Canadian operations. He joined Google in 2006 in Chicago and held a variety of executive level roles in the U.S. before to moving to Canada. Prior to Google, he was a General Manager and Senior Vice-President at a large online classified business, Classified Ventures (cars.com, apartments.com), and started his career at Arthur Andersen as an accountant and consultant.
Sam is a member of the Business Council of Canada and a Director on several Boards including Tennis Canada and Bridgit, a Kitchener-Waterloo internet start-up in the construction industry.
Sam graduated from The Ohio State University and holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. At Ohio State, he played Division I NCAA tennis, where he was a two-time Captain, Big Ten Champion and Academic All American.
Dan Xu brings a wealth of experience to the Board, having worked as a prominent leader in the banking industry for over 16 years. She holds a Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Finance and a Bachelor of Commerce with distinction from the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta.
She currently serves as the Director and Group Lead of Commercial Banking at Scotiabank, where she leads the Alberta North region. Under her leadership, her team has doubled in size in two years and has consistently achieved top rankings in client satisfaction, overall financial results and compliance management. Dan’s exceptional leadership and unwavering dedication to delivering results were acknowledged when she received Scotiabank’s prestigious 2022 Best of the Best Top Individual Performer and Trip Winner awards – among the highest recognitions awarded at Scotiabank.
Beyond her work, Dan has served as a board member and volunteer with several business organizations, including the Association for Corporate Growth, the Hong Kong Canada Business Association and Edmonton Women in Finance. Dan is an avid recreational tennis player herself and loves to cheer on her two daughters at tournaments, as a part of their high-performance tennis programs.
Anyone who’s ever played doubles tennis knows the importance of working as a team. Here at Tennis Canada, we are fortunate in this regard, sporting a Management Team that works seamlessly as one unit with shared goals.
SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM
Long-time tennis maven Gavin Ziv was named Chief Executive Officer in September of 2023 after previously holding the titles of Vice President of professional events and Managing Director for the National Bank Open in Toronto. He joined Tennis Canada as the Coordinator of National Events in tennis development in 1998 and later became the Operations Manager for the National Bank Open. In 2007, he was named the Director of National Events alongside his manager role for National Bank Open. Prior to his role with tennis, Mr. Ziv completed a specialized honours degree in Kinesiology and Health Sciences from York University. Prior to starting his position with Tennis Canada, he volunteered with the National Bank Open starting in 1987 and has been involved with every tournament in Toronto for the past 33 years.
Mr. Ziv is now responsible for all facets of the international competitive structure in Canada as well as officiating. He oversees all of the professional tennis events in Canada including the pro circuit events for men and women and Davis and Billie Jean King Cup ties. He helped to develop the functional and operational program for the Sobeys Stadium, Toronto’s $40 million stadium that opened in July of 2004, which hosts many of the international tournaments in Canada. More recently, he directed several Davis and Billie Jean King Cup ties culminating in the men’s side reaching the Davis Cup semi-final for the first time in 2013 and the ladies Billie Jean King Cup reaching the prestigious world group I main draw in 2014, a first for the team.
Mr. Ziv is responsible for the overall management of the National Bank Open in Toronto and Montreal, which is widely considered to be one of the most welcoming and well-organized on the ATP and WTA circuits. In 2011, when the Toronto and Montreal tournaments were played during the same week, he helped develop the model that allowed the matches to be shown virtually and combined on domestic TV. A key liaison with the WTA and ATP Tours, Mr. Ziv currently sits on the ATP Media Board, the WTA Board, WTA Media Steering Committee and the WTA Tournament Council.
Mr. Ziv, and his wife, Jaimie, have two children, Emily and Sophie and live in Thornhill, Ontario.
Bio coming soon
Eva Havaris is a veteran executive leader in the Canadian sports industry.
A former Division One collegiate soccer player and coach, Havaris earned numerous accolades most notably being recognized as the Canadian University Sport women’s soccer MVP in 2003. She was later inducted into the Western Mustangs Hall of Fame in 2019.
Concurrent to her coaching endeavours, Havaris launched her career as an Executive in the Canadian Sport industry and has worked at the provincial and national levels in sport. She joined Rugby Canada in 2006 and worked as the Associate Director of High-Performance Women’s Rugby and Rugby Development Manager until 2010. She later went on to serve as CEO of two NSOs – Taekwondo Canada (2010-2014) and Equestrian Canada (2014-2017).
Havaris was a member of the Executive team that launched the Canadian Premier League serving as the Vice-President of Strategy and League Operations and Chief of Staff for York United FC. Eva recently completed an appointment as the Executive Director of Alpine Ontario before joining Tennis Canada.
She is a member of the Board of Ringette Canada, the Chair of Ontario Soccer’s and Ringette Canada’s Nominations Committees and is a founding member of Ontario Soccer’s Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
Eva holds a Master of Arts in Sport Management and regularly contributes to the leadership development of next gen leaders in Canada.
Marie-Renée Boisclair joined Tennis Canada in July 2022 as Vice-President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer. A financial professional first and foremost and a results-driven leader, she has over 20 years’ experience in several activity sectors, including e-commerce and logistics, the legal field and telecommunications. In addition to receiving a CPA designation, she earned an MBA and Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
Recognized for her leadership rooted in an understanding of business processes with the power to influence an organization’s strategic directions, performance and long-term vision, she came to Tennis Canada from Intelcom Courier Canada Inc., a door-to-door delivery service for e-commerce platforms that employs over 2,000 people, where she served as chief financial officer. Among her major achievements as CFO was the creation of Intelcom’s finance unit, from hiring to the implementation of the processes and IT tools required to ensure the company’s success. She also played a key role in the oversight of planning, financial analysis and purchasing.
Previously, Marie-Renée held management positions in finance and accounting at a number of major North American companies such as Fasken, Intelcom and Bell Canada.
In addition to her role at Tennis Canada, she sits on the Committee for CPAs in Business and is the treasurer of the Carrefour Jeunesse Emploi de Montréal (CJE Montréal), which supports young people entering the job market.
Rob Swann rejoined Tennis Canada as VP, Chief Commercial Officer in 2013. He is responsible for corporate partnerships and stadium sales revenue generation for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers tournaments in Toronto and Montreal as well as grassroots tennis and national events. He holds an Honours BA in Recreation and Business from the University of Waterloo.
Mr. Swann started his Tennis Canada career as a volunteer at the 1996 National Bank Open and over the course of 15 years moved up to Regional Vice-President of Corporate Sales. In 2011, he joined the Toronto Blue Jays as Director of Corporate Partnership and Business Development where he secured multiple new corporate partners and significantly increased the investment of current partners in both dollars and activation.
Upon his return, Mr. Swann led the corporate partnership and stadium sales team to record breaking revenue for the 2014 tournaments.
Mr. Swann lives in Toronto with his wife Tanya and their young sons Carter and Brady.
Guillaume Marx is a former ATP player and avid coach who was promoted to the role of VP of High Performance at Tennis Canada in 2024.
In 2007, Guillaume started as Tennis Canada’s Head Boys National Coach until 2021, when he was promoted to Head of Performance to oversee Tennis Canada’s National Tennis Centre program, National Junior Tennis programs, and transition programs for both men and women.
Guillaume began his coaching journey with the French Tennis Federation, where he mentored prominent players like Gael Monfils and Giles Simon and worked with Louis Borfiga.
His coaching repertoire has since grown as he has coached many successful Canadian players like Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil and led three players to six Grand Slam Junior titles. Guillaume also coached Félix Auger-Aliassime from 14 years old to an ATP ranking of No. 17.
In 2013, Team Canada presented by Sobeys reached the Davis Cup semi-finals under Guillaume’s guidance. And, in 2022, they went one better, claiming their first-ever Davis Cup title, which was swiftly followed by the women’s team’s maiden Billie Jean King Cup crown in 2023.
Guillaume’s expertise and passion for the game play an integral role in serving Canadian tennis and driving Canadian high performance to further excellence.
A former professional player on the WTA, Valérie Tétreault was named the first-ever woman Tournament Director of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Montreal in October 2022. Valérie succeeded Eugène Lapierre, who previously held the role of Tournament Director for 20 years, in October 2022 and is the only woman Tournament Director in the ATP Masters 1000 group. During her first tournament in the role, the 2023 NBO broke the attendance record for a week-long women’s tennis event.
Valérie is also the Vice President of Communications and Professional Events at Tennis Canada. She has worked in Montreal with the Tennis Canada communications team since 2011 after taking a step back from her career as a player, during which she reached No. 112 in the world and represented Canada at the Billie Jean King Cup. Between 2012 and 2020, Valérie also worked for TVA Sports as their tennis expert, colour-commentating on ATP and WTA tournaments.
As part of her duties, Valérie oversees much of the planning for the tournament and plays a key role in communicating with the media and the public on behalf of Tennis Canada.
On top of her role as Tournament Director for the National Bank Open, Valérie is also responsible for Tennis Canada’s communications efforts and overall strategy, as well as government relations, stakeholder relations, and she regularly acts as a key spokesperson for the organization.
Valérie is committed to mental health initiatives for Canadian tennis players both on and off the court and continues to play a leading role in ensuring mental health resources are available to players during the National Bank Open.
Valérie also advocates for gender equity in sport and works towards growing women and girls’ involvement in tennis as an ambassador of Tennis Canada’s Game. Set. Equity. Initiative in partnership with National Bank.
Nathalie Tremblay joined Tennis Canada in early 2022 as Senior Director of Digital Transformation and Ticketing, quickly rising to her current role as Vice-President of Marketing Strategy and Customer Experience. With over 25 years of experience in business strategy and digital transformation, Nathalie has a proven track record of driving innovation and excellence across various industries.
In her role, Nathalie embodies Tennis Canada’s core values of excellence, integrity, teamwork, and innovation. She plays a pivotal role in crafting and executing marketing strategies that ensure seamless and engaging experiences for tennis fans, notably at the prestigious National Bank Open presented by Rogers. Under her leadership, the organization navigates the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of fan engagement with agility and insight.
Nathalie is a seasoned executive known for her strategic vision and operational expertise. She has successfully led multiple traditional companies through comprehensive digital transformations, spearheading critical revenue generation projects that have redefined business models and customer engagement strategies. Her areas of expertise include business strategy, marketing, e-commerce, and demand generation, which consistently deliver scalable and repeatable financial value.
In 2023, Nathalie led the Montreal stadium sales team to achieve record-breaking revenue for the tournament, showcasing her ability to drive exceptional results. Her commitment to youth and sports development is evident through her active role on the Board of Sport Jeunesse Québec.
Nathalie holds a Master’s in Business Administration and is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of marketing leaders through various coaching and teaching engagements. Her passion for leadership development and continuous learning ensures that she remains at the forefront of industry trends and innovations.
ATP Tour
The ATP is the governing body of the men’s professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour.
The ATP Tour sees players battle for titles across more than 60 tournaments in 30 countries each season. All roads lead to the Nitto ATP Finals, the prestigious season finale held in Turin, Italy. Featuring only the season’s best 8 singles players and doubles teams, the tournament sees the crowning of the year-end ATP World No. 1, presented by PIF, the ultimate achievement in tennis.
Tennis Canada owns and operates a Masters 1000 ATP World Tour tournament, the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, which is held annually and alternates between Toronto and Montreal.
WTA
Founded by Billie Jean King in 1973 on the principle of equal opportunity, the WTA is the global leader in women’s professional sports. The WTA is one of the world’s most recognizable and high-profile sports organizations, consisting of more than 1650 players representing approximately 85 nations, all competing to earn WTA rankings points and prestigious tournament titles. The WTA Tour comprises of over 50 events and four Grand Slams, spanning six continents and nearly 30 countries and regions with a global audience of over 700 million. The Tour culminates with the WTA Finals, honoring the season’s top singles and doubles players based on the final standings of the Race to WTA Finals leaderboard.
Tennis Canada owns and operates a WTA 1000 tournament, National Bank Open presented by Rogers, which is held annually and alternates between Toronto and Montreal.
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation (ITF), the world governing body of tennis, oversees the following five areas of the game:
- Administration and regulation
- Organizing international competition
- Structuring the game
- Developing the game
- Promoting the game
Tennis Canada owns and operates six professional ITF-sanctioned events held in Canada and works closely with the governing body on Davis Cup and Fed Cup, the men’s and women’s annual international team competitions for the sport of tennis.
Canadian Olympic Committee
The Canadian Olympic Committee leads the achievement of the Canadian Olympic Team’s podium success and advances Olympic values in Canada. Independent and predominantly privately funded, the Canadian Olympic Committee delivers resources that Canada’s elite athletes need to perform at their best and give their everything every day. The backbone of Canada’s Olympic movement, the Canadian Olympic Committee works with National Sport Federations to prepare the Team for the Olympic, Youth Olympic and Pan American Games. By sharing our athletes’ stories, we inspire all Canadians through the power of sport: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
Canadian Paralympic Committee
The Canadian Paralympic Committee is a non-profit, private organization with 25 member sports organizations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic Movement. The Canadian Paralympic Committee’s vision is to be the world’s leading Paralympic nation. Its mission is to lead the development of a sustainable Paralympic sport system in Canada to enable athletes to reach the podium at the Paralympic Games. By supporting Canadian high performance athletes with a disability and promoting their success, the Canadian Paralympic Committee inspires all Canadians with a disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organizations.
Tennis Professionals Association
The Tennis Professionals Association (TPA) is a member-based association devoted to growing the profession of tennis coaching throughout Canada. The TPA was developed by Tennis Canada for Canadian certified Instructors, Coaches, and Club Professionals. Since its inception in 2004, the TPA has grown from 800 members to over 4000.
Tennis Canada’s five-year strategic plan reasserts its ambitions for the growth and development of Canadian tennis and charts a roadmap that will enable the federation to achieve its goals and ensure sustained success for our sport.
The development of the strategic plan and identification of our priorities were guided by our mission, vision and values and by our renewed statement of intent that expresses why we exist. Tennis Canada’s strategic plan rests on six pillars derived from priorities determined by collaborators who dedicated their time, effort and passion to helping us set out the five-year plan:
- Raise the bar on winning: support Canada’s top players so they can join the world elite and expand the high-performance pipeline.
- Lead equitable, safe and inclusive tennis: attract more young players and families across Canada through tennis experiences that meet their needs and wants.
- Accelerate capacity build: provide broader access to year-round facilities to support communities and enable high-performance pipeline and participation growth.
- Turbocharge the engine: enhance the experience at the National Bank Open events, expand the tournament to 12 days, offer equal prize money and drive revenue growth.
- Be digital-first: develop data and digital capacity to strengthen our brand, drive incremental revenue and accelerate the attainment of our mission.
- Deliver ancillary revenues: expand resources through donors, public funding and new business development for our venues.
The 2023–2027 strategic plan stems from an extensive 11-month collaborative process between Tennis Canada and stakeholders from across the sports community. Tennis Canada’s Board, senior management team and the following partners and contributors all had a hand in its development:
• 40 representatives from provincial and territorial tennis associations and their boards of directors
• Former members of Tennis Canada’s Board of Directors and senior management team
• Coaches, tennis facility operators and other sports stakeholders both in and outside of tennis
