The Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program presented by Rogers returns for another significant year with a new set of projects that will continue to improve Canadian tennis infrastructure, Tennis Canada and Rogers announced on Thursday.
Spanning coast to coast, projects in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Edmonton, Alberta, and Kelowna, British Columbia, were confirmed for 2025, with a fourth project to be announced at a later date. By the end of 2025, the number of completed and ongoing year-round court projects created through the Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program will be more than halfway to the goal of building 160 tennis courts at 30 facilities across Canada by 2029.
The project at Riverdale Tennis Club and Green Belt Tennis Club with St. John’s Tennis Association represents a meaningful joint venture with Tennis Newfoundland and Labrador. Seven new year-round courts will significantly benefit the tennis community, while the project will also boost grassroots tennis development in the region as the facility is set to become the official provincial training centre. In addition, Green Belt Tennis Club will be front and centre this summer as it will be the tennis venue during the 2025 Canada Games.
The agreement to create year-round courts at IQ Tennis & Pickleball Centre in Edmonton demonstrates the program’s continued investment in Alberta, where two previous projects – the OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre and the Saville Tennis Centre at the University of Alberta – have been completed. Meanwhile, the project with the City of Kelowna marks a major milestone for the Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program as it is the first project to be funded in British Columbia.
Each project will receive $200,000 in seed money from Rogers, and they are all expected to be completed this year. When they open, these three projects will deliver 18 new courts for year-round play, impacting approximately 1.6 million Canadians and providing 1,890 additional hours per week of court time. Details for the fourth project will be released in due course.
IMPACT SO FAR, AND CHALLENGES STILL TO ADDRESS
Since its inception in 2022, Tennis Canada and Rogers have invested $3.2 million worth of seed money into the program, and the investment continues to have a substantial impact on tennis development and participation in communities across the country.
In 2024, two projects were completed: The Premier Racquet Club in Mississauga, Ontario, and the Niagara Falls Racquet Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The pair of clubs added eight new covered courts that accounted for 800 additional hours per week of court-time opportunities in the winter for nearly one million community members.
Additional projects have anticipated grand openings this year, including The Courts at San Romanoway operated by Philpott Children’s Tennis (Toronto, ON); Thunder Bay Community Tennis Centre (Thunder Bay, ON); West Island Tennis Club (Ile-Bizard, QC); and the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario.
Canada has seen impressive growth in tennis participation, with the nation ranking second globally for the percentage of its population playing tennis (12.8%), according to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) 2024 Global Tennis Report. Despite the rising participation and a growing player base, accessibility to year-round courts remains a nationwide challenge. Efforts like the Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program presented by Rogers are helping to meet surging demand and remain critical in helping Tennis Canada achieve its mission to lead the growth, development, and promotion of tennis in Canada.
QUOTES
“It’s incredible to see this program continue to thrive as we work towards our goal of making tennis more accessible to Canadians from coast to coast,” said Gavin Ziv, Chief Executive Officer, Tennis Canada. “This year, our portfolio includes three large-scale projects that represent a significant investment in Canadian tennis infrastructure. We’re also pleased to begin work on our first project in British Columbia, an important milestone as we continue to prioritize the construction of more year-round tennis courts across the country through the acceleration of our capacity-building efforts. We’d like to thank our tremendous partner, Rogers, for the unwavering support and for providing the seed money that makes this project possible. And to the municipalities and club-operating partners that have received funding, we offer our heartfelt congratulations.”
“We’re proud to see the Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program continue to build momentum and make a real difference in communities across Canada,” said Terrie Tweddle, Chief Brand and Communications Officer, Rogers. “By investing in these facilities, we’re helping more Canadians stay active and engaged in the sport, and we’re excited to see the program’s continued impact in the years ahead.”
MORE ON ST. JOHN’S TENNIS ASSOCIATION
Municipality: St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
Year-round courts created by the project: 7
Canadians served by the project: 240,000
Additional court hours per week created by the project: 735
“We are thrilled to have received this funding through the Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program presented by Rogers,” said Jess Norris, Executive Director, Tennis Newfoundland and Labrador. “This significant investment to equip the Green Belt Tennis Club with a dome that allows for year-round play will enrich the lives of tennis players in St. John’s and will have a lasting impact on the growing Newfoundland and Labrador tennis community. As we prepare to play host to tennis events during the upcoming Canada Games, we look forward to welcoming Canada’s athletes to our state-of-the-art facility.”
MORE ON IQ TENNIS & PICKLEBALL CENTRE – EDMONTON
Municipality: Edmonton, Alberta
Year-round courts created by the project: 6
Canadians served by the project: 1.2 million
Additional court hours per week created by the project: 630
MORE ON THE CITY OF KELOWNA
Municipality: Kelowna, British Columbia
Year-round courts created by the project: 5
Canadians served by the project: 166,000
Additional court hours per week created by the project: 525
About the Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program presented by Rogers
With the aim of building 160 new year-round courts at up to 30 facilities across Canada by 2029, the $5.6 million Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program, jointly funded by Tennis Canada and Rogers, will make year-round tennis a reality for Canadians across the country, increasing accessibility to the sport and helping to foster increased participation among youth. The program was initiated to address the fact that, at the time of its inception, Canada fell behind other leading tennis nations in providing access to the sport 12 months a year, with only 750 publicly accessible covered courts across the country, representing only one year-round court for every 50,000 people. For each project, Tennis Canada and Rogers provide up to $200,000 in seed money.
