The Houghton Boston Tennis Classic, presented by the BMO Financial Group and the Remai Group kicks off this weekend with its qualifying draw (main draw matches start Monday). The tournament, now in its eighth year, is hosted by Riverside Badminton and Tennis Club in Saskatoon. This $25,000 ITF Futures Level event draws professional players from around the world and is completely free to attend as a spectator. The tournament runs from June 30 – July 8, 2018. Read on for our full preview of the event.

Who is Playing?

At the time of writing, there are players from ten different countries in the main-draw acceptance list for the event. Top seeds are Austria’s Lucas Miedler and Thailand’s Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul. Canadians currently accepted into the main-draw are Vancouver’s Benjamin Sigouin and Toronto’s David Volfson. The tournament’s qualifying draw will also feature an additional 17 Canadians.

Past Champions

The Houghton Boston Tennis Classic has had some notable players lift its trophy in its previous seven iterations. Here are a few names that stand out:

2011 – Vasek Pospisil

In the opening year of the event, Canadian Vasek Pospisil took home the inaugural title. Most Canadians recognize Vasek from his notable Davis Cup career, where he has represented our country in 16 ties, with an overall record of 17-16. Vasek has also had a successful career on both the ATP Singles and Doubles circuits. In singles, he earned a career-high rank of 25 in the world. In doubles, he earned a career-high rank of 4 in the world and won a Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2014.

2014 – Thanasi Kokkinakis

Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis lifted the trophy in 2014. This electric player from down under has had an up-and-down career plagued with injuries, but when he is on, he’s one of the best. Earlier this year, Thanasi pulled off a major upset of then world number 1 Roger Federer in Miami.

2017 – Filip Peliwo

Last year, Canadian Filip Peliwo won the tournament. This happened in the middle of Filip’s strongest season to date. He lifted six Futures titles (including Saskatoon) and one Challenger title. Fans may also remember Filip from his incredible junior tennis career. In 2012, he made the final of all four Junior Grand Slam, winning the Boy’s Title at both Wimbledon and the US Open.

Here is the full list of past champions (Canadians in bold):

2011 – Vasek Pospisil

2012 – Daniel King-Turner

2013 – Austin Krajicek

2014 – Thanasi Kokkinakis

2015 – Matt Reid

2016 – Philip Bester

2017 – Filip Peliwo

Local Players in Action

The Houghton Boston Tennis Classic also regularly features top local players in its qualifying draw. Saskatoon’s Conrad Koch, David Chu, Payton Nicol, Kolya Sidloski and Josh Saban, along with Regina’s Quin Pon are competing on Saturday in the qualifying draw.

For more information about the event or to view the draws, check out the event’s ITF Tournament Profile: Houghton Boston Tennis Classic 2018