Kelowna Tennis Tournament a Lot Closer to Wimbledon Than Most Would Think

Kelowna's Parkinson Recreation Centre hosted the tennis tournament over the past week. (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com)

The Kelowna Futures Tennis Tournament was a huge success, bringing professional players from around the world to the Central Okanagan.

The tournament was held at the Parkinson Recreation Centre Courts in Kelowna from June 29^th to July 5^th. Jarrod Thalheimer, who’s on the Board of Directors for the event, said the energy was great all week with audience members continually being impressed with the level of talent. One thing that organizers would hope for would be a higher turnout, but Thalheimer said that this isn’t even just because of the ticket sales.

Eric Quigley made it all the way to the final match, third set, and a tie breaker to take second. (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com)

“More people would just be entranced by what they’re watching there,” said Thalheimer. He heard several observers in the stands actually pulling out their phones and calling people to let them know they had to come down and watch. “They didn’t realize what a big deal it was.”

He says it seems the tournament gets a higher calibre of player every year, making it that much harder for excellent players to win. He pointed to two “amazing” players, Philip Bester and Brayden Schnur, who were both eliminated in the quarterfinals. “It really shows the calibre of tennis in town.”

Omar Jasika was the winner of the tournament. (Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com)

Omar Jasika was crowned the winner after the final match, but he actually ended up losing the first set 3-6 against Eric Quigley. Jasika had to pull out all the stops to win the second 6-4, and the match finished with Jasika winning 7-6 after taking the tie break 7-4. “Literally right down to the wire, you did not know who was going to win,” said Thalheimer.

Both Jasika and Quigley are now off to high level tennis tournaments in Chicago and Rhode Island, showing how much talent the Kelowna tournament brings in. According to Thalheimer, Quigley even said that he hoped to be at Wimbledon next year, but if he wasn’t, he’d be back at the Kelowna Futures Tennis Tournament.

Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com

“Literally, that’s the level these guys are running at,” said Thalheimer, saying that within 12 months they can get up to Wimbledon level or be here in Kelowna. “The distance between the two is a lot smaller than people may think.”

For a closer look at the action, check out KelownaNow’s video piece showcasing some of players over the past week.

Photo Credit: KelownaNow.com