John Beddington arrived on scene at a time when tennis in Canada was flourishing thanks to the emergence of Carling Bassett-Seguso, Glenn Michibata, Martin Wostenholme, and Stéphane Bonneau. Fast forward 45 years, the sport continues to grow at every level yes thanks to even more star players, but also because of Beddington’s innovative vision of a brighter future for the game that he masterfully brought to life during his 17 influential years with Tennis Canada and that remains a foundational piece today.
It took a decade for Ken Sinclair to finish laying the groundwork for a new and improved Canadian Open (now National Bank Open presented by Rogers) that would allow the tournament to attract more revenue, more visibility, and the best players in the world. But he needed assistance, and Beddington, who passed away peacefully on October 15, answered his call for help. He came to Toronto from Great Britain in January of 1979 to survey the state of Canadian tennis and decided that Sinclair’s plan had all the ingredients for success. Less than five months after that fateful visit, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Guillermo Vilas, Vitas Gerulaitis, and a young, emerging Ivan Lendl all played in Toronto on the newly resurfaced DecoTurf II courts at York University which hosted a record-breaking 50,000 fans that year.
“I got to know John through the Canadian Open — we stayed in touch over the years. John was a great guy, always enjoyed seeing him at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. John did a fantastic job in Toronto and Montreal,” said Lendl, six-time champion of the Canadian Open. “I appreciated his wicked sense of humor, and I was very sad to hear about John’s passing.”
Beddington also spearheaded bringing the Canadian Open to Montreal beginning in 1981 so that the men’s and women’s events could be held alternately in two cities. To this day, this one-of-a-kind concept remains unique to Canada. He settled on Jarry Park, former home of the Montreal Expos, as the perfect location to become the tournament’s newest permanent home. The existing venue was quickly transformed into a full-fledged tennis facility which was recognized as one of the foremost facilities of its kind in the world.
While Canada’s flagship events were expanding, Tennis Canada was also getting bigger with Beddington at the helm. The federation went from two to more than 30 employees in the span of six years with particular focus put on national team development and other technical initiatives.
Beddington was not only a master at building thriving tennis events, but he was also known for building meaningful relationships with the people he crossed paths with, especially the players, and not just the stars. He believed that going out his way to make them feel special, taken care of, and welcome with small, yet important gestures went a long way in earning their loyalty.
Simply put, it’s impossible to reference the history of tennis in Canada and not mention John Beddington’s name which is a testament to his incredible legacy within the sport, the passion he was driven by, and the impact he had on everyone involved in his tennis journey, an impact that goes far beyond the many accolades he earned.
Feature photo courtesy of: Susan Mullane
