MONTREAL, August 14, 2023 (Tennis Canada Press Release)
On Sunday, American Jessica Pegula captured her second WTA 1000 title, becoming the newest champion of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers. The 29-year-old, currently ranked No. 3 in the world, triumphed over Liudmila Samsonova 6-1, 6-0.
“I feel so good. I played a virtually error-free match, almost a perfect match,” said Jessica Pegula following her victory. “I’ve always played a bit here [in Canada]. I always come [to Montreal] with a good attitude and a good frame of mind, and I think that probably helped. I feel at home here.”
Pegula was breathtaking all week on the IGA Stadium courts, beating two seeded players, including World No. 1 Iga Swiatek en route to the title. However, she proved particularly dominant in the championship match, dropping only one total game. She becomes one of the only players in history to accomplish this feat in a final in Canada, joining the likes of Monica Seles, Justine Henin, Amelie Mauresmo and Bianca Andreescu.
A thing of beauty 💥@JPegula | #NBO23 pic.twitter.com/RLBocR27eE
— wta (@WTA) August 13, 2023
“We’d like to warmly congratulate Jessica on her exceptional performance at our tournament,” said Valérie Tétreault, Director of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers. “In a tournament featuring 9 of the world’s Top 10 players, she came out on top, beating such high-calibre players, such as her compatriot Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and finally Liudmila Samsonova, to win the title. She deserves all the success, and we’re proud that she’s become the new National Bank Open champion.”
Sensational tennis despite weather
Although the tournament had its ups and downs due to the many rainy spells that occurred during the week, fans still flocked to the gates of IGA Stadium to see the world’s best players in action. In fact, this summer, the Montreal NBO broke its attendance record for a women’s tournament set in 2014 (181,996 people) by welcoming over 219,667 fans to its site, and nearly 61,000 during the IGA Family Weekend in association with Maple Leaf Foods and VIA Rail Canada.
The tournament, whose 2023 theme was: ‘It’s not the best of women’s tennis. It’s the best of tennis’, proved just how much the city of Montreal loves their tennis, no matter which Tour is in town.
“We are so fortunate to have such passionate fans,” added Valérie Tétreault. “We’ve believed for many years that women’s tennis offers an exceptional spectacle, and our attendance figures over the last decade have always proved that we’re one of the most popular tournaments on both the men’s and women’s circuits. However, I can’t hide the fact that breaking the 200,000-visitor barrier for a women’s tournament is an achievement that makes me particularly proud to be the Tournament Director of the National Bank Open in Montreal.”
Shibahara and Aoyama win in doubles
In doubles, 7th-seeded Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama took home the National Bank Open trophy, defeating No. 5 seeds Desirea Krawcyzk and Demi Schuurs 6-4, 4-6, 13-11. The Japanese duo, who were also crowned champions at the ‘S-Hertogenboschcette’ tournament this season, thus added a second to their collection this year.
By virtue of their victory, both players will continue their climb up the WTA doubles rankings. Aoyama is now ranked No. 13, while Shibahara is No. 15.
$25,000 for Ukraine
Tennis Canada joined forces with WTA Charities, Hologic and ATP Serves to donate to the Ukraine Relief Fund as part of the Tennis Plays for Peace initiative. Throughout the tournament, a donation was made for every ace produced in Montreal and Toronto. At the end of both tournaments, a total of $25,000 was donated to the fund.
