The Odlum Brown VanOpen tennis tournament, one of the biggest annual events on the North Shore sports calendar, has officially been shut down for 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Challenger level men’s and women’s pro tournament is Western Canada’s biggest annual tennis event, held every August at West Vancouver’s Hollyburn Country Club.
“With the recommendations by local, provincial, and national health authorities in regard to physical distancing, we are dedicated to helping do our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” stated tournament director Rik de Voest in a release.
Tennis heavyweights such as Maria Sharapova, Eugenie Bouchard, Bianca Andreescu, Milos Raonic, Marcos Baghdatis, and Andy Murray have taken part in the tournament in the past.
This year’s tournament was set to run from Aug. 16 to Aug. 23. In 2017 and 2018, the VanOpen was named ATP Challenger of the Year as voted on by the players on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Organizers said they are looking forward to holding another successful event in 2021.
“This pandemic transcends tennis and at this time, we all need to work together and take care of each other,” said de Voest. “The support for our tournament from everyone involved is outstanding. We look forward to building on our previous successes to return even stronger in 2021 and present the best edition of the Odlum Brown VanOpen ever.”
