ATP Tour stars traded racquets for sticks on Saturday ahead of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in the annual ATP Masters 1000 Canada ball hockey game.
Nuno Borges, Luciano Darderi, Alexis Galarneau, Marcos Giron, Miomir Kecmanovic and Vasek Pospisil played a team of PWHL stars and a ball hockey pro in a thrilling game. The hockey standouts eventually won in a nail-biting shootout.
“It’s amazing. It was very humbling. It’s fun to play though,” Giron said. “We always play tennis, but I think all of us tennis players grew up playing other sports and it’s always fun to give it a shot in another thing. But the hockey stick does not quite feel like an extension of the arm like a tennis racquet does.”
Marcos Giron shoots on net during Saturday's game.
Borges had never previously played hockey, but had a great time trying to learn the sport.
“The fact that we struggled so much, at least me, I wanted to keep playing to improve because I couldn’t hit the ball. It was really hard,” Borges said. “You’d think we’d have a little advantage just knowing how to handle a racquet as an extension, but the stick is totally different. It was fun trying out a new sport with all the different gear, the gloves. It’s cool experimenting with stuff. I had a lot of fun.”
Alexis Galarneau enjoys competing in the ball hockey game.
The tennis players enjoyed plenty of laughs throughout. Darderi, who is No. 34 in the PIF ATP Rankings, had never played either. Yet by the end of the game he had grown comfortable enough to make a highlight-reel assist by passing the ball above the net to a teammate, who put it past the goalie.
Tennis racquets back in hand, the tournament’s main draw will begin Tuesday.