Latest news with #RogersCup
Toronto Sun
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Toronto Sun
Rogers serves up embarrassing double fault on Sportsnet's National Bank Open coverage
Sportsnet is pulling in the ATP world feed to air on its platforms, a bare-bones production that is in stark contrast to what the network showed in the past. Get the latest from Rob Longley straight to your inbox Felix Auger-Aliassime is aced by Fabian Marozsan of Hungary during their match at the National Bank Open in Toronto. The Canadian Press Remember when tennis was treated as a big thing in Canada, especially on television? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Remember when the annual pro tournament here was known as the Rogers Cup and Rogers Sportsnet treated it like it was something special with full-on, extensive coverage? Well those days appear long gone, at least for early round coverage of the latest rendition of the National Bank Open, being played this week and next in Montreal in Toronto. In what would seem to be a puzzling move to cut costs by Rogers, viewers are being short-changed to the point of being embarrassing. For the first week of action, anyway, Sportsnet is pulling in the ATP world feed to air on its platforms, a bare-bones production that is in stark contrast to what the network showed in the past and pays minimal attention to the stories that matter most to viewers here. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The regular coverage returns next week, but rather late to the party. The result has tennis fans outraged and those following the Canadian players on both the men's and women's tour miffed at the indifference from Rogers, which still remains a presenting sponsor. A Sportsnet spokesman says the change in coverage is 'adjusting to the tournament's expanded format' given the simultaneous men's and women's events take place over two weeks. In the early going, what will viewers notice the most? If they care about Canadian tennis, plenty. It was never more evident than on Wednesday night when the bland and rambling ATP feed completely ignored one of the matches of great interest to viewers who have long enjoyed coverage of the annual Canadian professional stop. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. If you were hoping to see popular Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in action against Hungarian Fabian Marozsan, you had another thing coming. The top-ranked Canadian in the event, at No. 28 in the world, may have been on centre court in the prime time slot, but he was nowhere to be found on Sportsnet. Instead, the network was showing Arthus Fils and Pablo Carreno Busta, a match we can confidently predict would have had zero interest from Canadian fans unless either player has relatives here. The only justification — such as it is — would be that Fils was the No. 15 seed, but tucked away on a back court. It was action definitely not made for prime time nor made for the domestic audience and looked second rate. What would have been one of the bigger stories in the opening week of the National Bank Open — Auger-Aliassime's meek straight-sets exit — was instead all but ignored. No live coverage beyond a couple of updates, no reaction from the Canadian and certainly no analysis. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It got worse. When providing an update, the ATP announcers muttered something about Auger-Aliassime not being able to contend for a home win to delight the Canadian crowd. 'We had one (Canadian win), but it was not in the open era,' the voice said. 'I'll have to find out who it was. I did read it somewhere.' Ouch. But this is what happens when a network risks a universal feed made for a world audience by going on the cheap. Perhaps there is an arrogance that viewers would watch no matter what coverage appeared, but on a night when there was no Blue Jays baseball, there was a chance for Canadian sports fans to rally around Auger-Aliassime. Adding to the embarrassment is the fact that not only is Auger-Aliassime a popular Canadian (and an Olympic medallist last summer in Paris) he's a Rogers sponsored athlete and involved in a cross promotion at a recent Blue Jays game when he tossed out the ceremonial first pitch. He was on the big court in prime time for a reason. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More By extension, the exclusion of the top-seeded Canuck was a bad look for Tennis Canada, which has to be seething at the work of its broadcast partner. Sportsnet is picking up the world feed for the women's portion of the tournament in Montreal as well on one of the other Sportsnet channels. However, in that case, Canadian fans got lucky. Not only did television viewers get to see both of Eugenie Bouchard's matches, but they also had uninterrupted coverage of the post-match celebration of the retiring Bouchard's career after her loss Wednesday. The bad news for Sportsnet? A tough run for the National Bank Open with big-seed withdrawals is now without it's two top hopes (and top ratings draws) on the men's side given the early exits of Auger-Aliassime and Dennis Shapovalov. The good news for Sportsnet? Full production returns on Saturday with Rob Faulds (play-by-play), Jimmy Arias (analyst) and Jesse Levine (courtside reporter) in Toronto and Caroline Cameron (play-by-play) Tracy Austin (analyst) and Danielle Michaud (courtside reporter) in Montreal. At least the tournament — a summer highlight for Canadian sports fans — gets the big-league treatment it deserves, even if it is maddeningly late. Toronto & GTA Celebrity Canada Canada Canada
National Post
31-07-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Rogers serves up embarrassing double fault on Sportsnet's National Bank Open coverage
Remember when tennis was treated as a big thing in Canada, especially on television? Article content Remember when the annual pro tournament here was known as the Rogers Cup and Rogers Sportsnet treated it like it was something special with full-on, extensive coverage? Article content Well those days appear long gone, at least for early round coverage of the latest rendition of the National Bank Open, being played this week and next in Montreal in Toronto. In what would seem to be a puzzling move to cut costs by Rogers, viewers are being short-changed to the point of being embarrassing. Article content Article content For the first week of action, anyway, Sportsnet is pulling in the ATP world feed to air on its platforms, a bare-bones production that is in stark contrast to what the network showed in the past and pays minimal attention to the stories that matter most to viewers here. Article content The regular coverage returns next week, but rather late to the party. Article content The result has tennis fans outraged and those following the Canadian players on both the men's and women's tour miffed at the indifference from Rogers, which still remains a presenting sponsor. Article content A Sportsnet spokesman says the change in coverage is 'adjusting to the tournament's expanded format' given the simultaneous men's and women's events take place over two weeks. Article content In the early going, what will viewers notice the most? If they care about Canadian tennis, plenty. Article content It was never more evident than on Wednesday night when the bland and rambling ATP feed completely ignored one of the matches of great interest to viewers who have long enjoyed coverage of the annual Canadian professional stop. Article content Instead, the network was showing Arthus Fils and Pablo Carreno Busta, a match we can confidently predict would have had zero interest from Canadian fans unless either player has relatives here. The only justification — such as it is — would be that Fils was the No. 15 seed, but tucked away on a back court. It was action definitely not made for prime time nor made for the domestic audience and looked second rate. Article content What would have been one of the bigger stories in the opening week of the National Bank Open — Auger-Aliassime's meek straight-sets exit — was instead all but ignored. No live coverage beyond a couple of updates, no reaction from the Canadian and certainly no analysis. Article content It got worse. When providing an update, the ATP announcers muttered something about Auger-Aliassime not being able to contend for a home win to delight the Canadian crowd. Article content 'We had one (Canadian win), but it was not in the open era,' the voice said. 'I'll have to find out who it was. I did read it somewhere.' Article content Ouch. Article content But this is what happens when a network risks a universal feed made for a world audience by going on the cheap. Perhaps there is an arrogance that viewers would watch no matter what coverage appeared, but on a night when there was no Blue Jays baseball, there was a chance for Canadian sports fans to rally around Auger-Aliassime. Article content Adding to the embarrassment is the fact that not only is Auger-Aliassime a popular Canadian (and an Olympic medallist last summer in Paris) he's a Rogers sponsored athlete and involved in a cross promotion at a recent Blue Jays game when he tossed out the ceremonial first pitch. He was on the big court in prime time for a reason. Article content Article content By extension, the exclusion of the top-seeded Canuck was a bad look for Tennis Canada, which has to be seething at the work of its broadcast partner. Article content Sportsnet is picking up the world feed for the women's portion of the tournament in Montreal as well on one of the other Sportsnet channels. Article content However, in that case, Canadian fans got lucky. Not only did television viewers get to see both of Eugenie Bouchard's matches, but they also had uninterrupted coverage of the post-match celebration of the retiring Bouchard's career after her loss Wednesday. Article content The bad news for Sportsnet? A tough run for the National Bank Open with big-seed withdrawals is now without it's two top hopes (and top ratings draws) on the men's side given the early exits of Auger-Aliassime and Dennis Shapovalov. Article content
West Australian
09-07-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Rogers Cup debutants make an impression in must-win clash as two more Great Southern athletes join the fray
Rogers Cup debutants make an impression in must-win clash as two more Great Southern athletes join the fray
Straits Times
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Forgotten man Tomic earns first Tour win since 2021
FILE PHOTO: Aug 4, 2019; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Bernard Tomic of Australia reacts after defeating Marc Polmans of Australia (not pictured) during the Rogers Cup tennis tournament at Stade IGA. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo REUTERS MALLORCA - Australia's forgotten bad boy Bernard Tomic earned his first ATP main draw victory since 2021 on Tuesday as he hit back from a set down to beat Rinky Hijikata at the Mallorca Open. The 32-year-old, once ranked 17th in the world but now languishing down at 248, battled to a 3-6 7-5 6-2 to set up a clash against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. Tomic's questionable attitude has attracted plenty of criticism throughout his career, often bragging about his party lifestyle and earnings and having numerous run-ins with authority over his penchant for speeding in sports cars. But he appears to be giving tennis one last throw of the dice and skipped trying to qualify for Wimbledon in preference of trying to earn some ranking points by qualifying in Mallorca and boosting his hopes of a top-100 return. Qualifying wins in Mallorca against Dutchman Jasper De Jong and Aleksandar Kovacevic, both ranked in the top 100, earned him his chance and he took it against wildcard Hijikata. It was his first main draw win since beating Yuichi Sugita in the opening round of the 2021 Australian Open. Bautista Agut, 37, will provide a stern test of Tomic's desire after the Spaniard continued his recent resurgence with a 5-7 6-3 6-2 defeat of Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Top seed Ben Shelton begins his Mallorca quest on Wednesday against fellow American Learner Tien. The 22-year-old Shelton, ranked 10 in the world, warmed up on Tuesday with a knock-about against Mallorca's former NBA star Rudy Fernandez before shooting some hoops. "It was fun, Rudy is a really nice guy, I'd never met him before," Shelton said of the former Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets player. "He's a better tennis player than I was expecting." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
24-06-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Tennis-Forgotten man Tomic earns first Tour win since 2021
FILE PHOTO: Aug 4, 2019; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Bernard Tomic of Australia reacts after defeating Marc Polmans of Australia (not pictured) during the Rogers Cup tennis tournament at Stade IGA. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo MALLORCA (Reuters) -Australia's forgotten bad boy Bernard Tomic earned his first ATP main draw victory since 2021 on Tuesday as he hit back from a set down to beat Rinky Hijikata at the Mallorca Open. The 32-year-old, once ranked 17th in the world but now languishing down at 248, battled to a 3-6 7-5 6-2 to set up a clash against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. Tomic's questionable attitude has attracted plenty of criticism throughout his career, often bragging about his party lifestyle and earnings and having numerous run-ins with authority over his penchant for speeding in sports cars. But he appears to be giving tennis one last throw of the dice and skipped trying to qualify for Wimbledon in preference of trying to earn some ranking points by qualifying in Mallorca and boosting his hopes of a top-100 return. Qualifying wins in Mallorca against Dutchman Jasper De Jong and Aleksandar Kovacevic, both ranked in the top 100, earned him his chance and he took it against wildcard Hijikata. It was his first main draw win since beating Yuichi Sugita in the opening round of the 2021 Australian Open. Bautista Agut, 37, will provide a stern test of Tomic's desire after the Spaniard continued his recent resurgence with a 5-7 6-3 6-2 defeat of Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Top seed Ben Shelton begins his Mallorca quest on Wednesday against fellow American Learner Tien. The 22-year-old Shelton, ranked 10 in the world, warmed up on Tuesday with a knock-about against Mallorca's former NBA star Rudy Fernandez before shooting some hoops. "It was fun, Rudy is a really nice guy, I'd never met him before," Shelton said of the former Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets player. "He's a better tennis player than I was expecting." (Reporting by Martyn HermanEditing by Christian Radnedge)
