Canadian Tennis Titan Philip Bester Returns In Kelowna

Canadian tennis star Philip Bester is back in Kelowna this month. He is looking to win his second Kelowna Futures ITF Professional Men`s title, but few people realize just how incredible his personal story actually is. You see, once upon a time there was no better tennis player in all of BC than Philip Bester.

Growing up in North Vancouver, Bester quite literally haunted the courts at the Hollyburn Country Club, playing, practicing and training at every chance he got. Coached by his father from the age of five, Bester would eventually go on to become Canadian National Champion for the U14, U16 and U18 age groups consecutively.

By the age of 15, Bester was already sponsored and training at the world-famous Bolletteiri Tennis Academy (home to Andre Agassi, Maria Sharpova and Tommy Haas) and had secured both a professional agent (IMG) and major deals with Nike and Wilson. His winning ways continued and Bester went on to make the finals of the 2006 Junior French Open, becoming the very first Canadian in history to do so. He ended the year ranked number eight in the world. Never before had BC, or Canada for that matter, seen a player with such talent and promise.

Philip Bester in action (photo credit: contributed by Kelowna Futures Tennis)

Philip Bester's pro career got off to a similarly speedy start, as he made great showings at pro-events around the world, rising to a career high ATP ranking of 229 and even finding time to help give Canada’s Davis Cup Team a must-win over Ecuador, securing our country’s first-ever entry into the World Group. 2011 was an amazing year. Then injury struck.

Bester struggled for nearly a year until he was finally able to rejoin the tour and begin the long process of rebuilding his ATP ranking. And just as all systems were go a minor hip injury in 2013 sidelined his plans once more.

Determined not to let this injury end his tennis dream forever, Bester made the hard choice to step away from tennis and have necessary surgery. This meant his ranking would fall quickly as he took important time off to recuperate and rehabilitate. The decision was costly – Bester’s ranking fell all the way to zero - but after nearly eight months he was pain-free for the first time and ready to get started once more. He quickly built his ranking all the way back up to 337.

Watch "Philip Bester - Beyond the Baseline"

Once again poised to re-enter the jet-setting world of top-level tournaments and Grand Slam appearances, this year’s 2015 Kelowna Men’s ITF event could be our last chance to see Philip Bester locally when he returns in search of the valuable ATP points he needs to climb higher. “When it comes to tennis, there are few in the country as talented and skilled as Philip. Add in his determination and that list gets even shorter”, says local Kelowna Futures Tennis tournament chair Joachim Nierfeld. “Philip is an amazing competitor. It is an absolute treat to watch him play. We are so lucky to have him.”

The Kelowna Futures ITF Pro-Men’s event runs Saturday, June 27 to Sunday, July 5. Anyone interested in attending to see Philip Bester make a run at this year’s Kelowna Futures title can find out more HERE.