The main draw matches of the WTA 1000 de Toronto start tomorrow Monday August 8th. The best players in the world travel to Canada, with the presence of great tennis players such as Every Swiatek, Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams or Venus. Toronto tournament director Karl Hale talks in an interview for the event about the internal work being done by the organization, as well as what it means for the event to have players like the Williamses take part.
The possible last time of the Williams
“The two occupy a very special place for me, I have a close relationship with them. You’ve done a lot for this sport and we want to give you one great (possibly) last experience here in Toronto. The fans have reacted amazingly since we announced they would be playing. Ticket sales have skyrocketed. It’s tremendous for us to have them in Toronto.”
“We try to be the friendliest tournament in the world”
“Every time you think you’re done for the night, you get a message or a call from an agent, player or staff member about something that needs to be done the next day. We try to make sure players have a great experience to keep them coming back. There is a lot at stake in that. You want to make them happy and meet or exceed their expectations,” explained the Canadian.
“It’s the busiest opening day I’ve ever seen. It’s nice to see people enjoying this great event in Toronto. It’s nice to see everyone back. We are grateful to be operational again and to be successful.
We try to be the friendliest tournament in the world. We have a very intimate setting. If there are any problems with our players, we treat them in the same way. We try to make kindness the most important thing.”
About the local
“Playing against Serena here in 2019 was really important for Bianca (Andreescu) because when she came out on court at the US Open and saw Serena, it was not something new. She was really relaxed. The process continues with these younger players. This tournament is the first place where people meet them. The WTA 1000 in Toronto helps Canadian players in many ways”, concluded Hale.
