NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Libby Bourassa returns a shot to Dannan McElroy-O'Driscoll during the City Singles Open women's championship game on Saturday, May 25, 2019 at Medicine Hat Tennis Club.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
After clinching a City Singles Open title at 14 years old, Libby Bourassa is ready to take on someone her own age.
Bourassa battled through some of the city’s top adult players to take home her local tennis club’s first trophy of the season, and says she’s excited to now see where she stands against the best the province has to offer in her age group at the Alberta Outdoor Junior Open in Medicine Hat this weekend.
“I’ve never played somebody my age,” said Bourassa. “Everyone has been older, younger. Nobody has been 14. It’s crazy. I’m excited to see how our club does against the others.
“I think it’ll be a crazy experience. I’ve played many team sports representing Alberta, but never by myself. And our club representing Medicine Hat, it’ll be a very cool experience being able to represent us as a community, as a club.”
The Open kicks off at the Medicine Hat Tennis Club this afternoon at 2 p.m., though Bourassa will wait until Saturday to make her debut against 17-year-old Hatter Dannan McElroy-O’Driscoll. Bourassa took down McElroy-O’Driscoll to win the City Singles Open crown in a three-set all-junior final back in May, and says she’s expecting another war of attrition against her Hat counterpart.
“That match was crazy,” Bourassa said of the City Singles Open final. “We had matches in the morning and we were so tired out, and it was just a very intense game. Nobody wanted to mess up, nobody wanted to be the one who lost. I think that same intensity will be brought into this next match on Saturday. With the tournament going on, I think it’ll be the same atmosphere and I think it’ll be a very intense game.”
Bourassa and McElroy-O’Driscoll are two of five Hatters competing at the event. Brooke Pfeifer, Ryder Siegers and Dannan’s brother Quinlan McElroy-O’Driscoll will also be in action over the weekend.
Before stepping onto the provincial stage, Bourassa made sure to give thanks to Trevor Riddell, Doug McLeod and Craig Weich – the coaches who helped her and her teammates get there.
“We have junior lessons every Tuesday and Thursday, and for the hour-and-a-half we had they would just help us with all of the basics,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for so many years and I’ve just improved. I’ve never had anybody else but them and they’ve just improved me all the way from the bottom to the very top.”
Medicine Hat Tennis Club manager Ken Clement says the tournament is a fantastic opportunity for the city’s junior players to test their mettle against the province’s top talent while also allowing the club to showcase its facility and establish itself within the provincial tennis community.
“I think it’s a great thing for the club, No. 1 to be able to welcome some of the best junior players in the province, and of course their parents and their coaches,” said Clement. “We’re excited about having these players visit us, and of course we’re excited about showing off the tennis club too. We’re tucked away in the southeast corner of the province and we’re not really that familiar to a lot of these players. I think it’s a chance for them to see our facility. On the other side of it, it’s a chance for our people to see them play and it’s a chance for our juniors to experience very high calibre competition. I think it’s a win-win for everybody.
“It connects us with the rest of the province, so to speak, in terms of tennis. There’s a lot more to tennis than our local events.”
