Q & A with NBO Montreal Tournament Director Valérie Tétreault: Auger-Aliassime Coming Home for the NBO & Davis Cup, Serena’s Return

We spoke to Valérie Tétreault about Felix’s homecoming, not only to Montreal, but also to Quebec City for Canada’s Davis Cup tie against France in September, and Serena Williams’ return to the WTA Tour.

*The following interview has been edited purely for clarity and flow purposes.

Melissa Boyd: Fans are excited about Félix coming home to Montreal this summer to play the NBO. What can you tell them about his preparations for the tournament? 

Valérie Tétreault: Our tournament dates have been circled on Félix’s calendar for a long time. He only has the chance to play at home once every two years. He spent several years of his life in Montreal, so it feels even more special when he plays here. Last time he came, not to say that it was a missed opportunity, but the fact remains that he arrived with very little time to prepare for the tournament, having played a lot of matches at the Olympic Games. So, it wasn’t the best preparation, and that meant his stay in Montreal was very short. That said, it was recent Roland-Garros finalist Flavio Cobolli who beat him in 2024.

At the start of the season, Félix and his team told us they wanted to arrive very early after Wimbledon to train on the courts here and make the most of being in Montreal. In fact, the first hotel reservations we made were for Félix and his team, which shows just how much the NBO is a priority for him. I’m speaking in the conditional tense here because one of Félix’s goals for the season is to qualify for the ATP Finals again. We know he’s also committed to playing Davis Cup, so that also impacts his schedule and his choice of tournaments. At this point, it’s not out of the question that he might decide to add Washington if he feels the need to pick up a few more points.

Melissa Boyd: Félix will also be playing in Quebec City, where he grew up, for Canada's Davis Cup tie against France in September. How excited are you to bring Davis Cup back to Quebec, at Centre Vidéotron no less? 

Valérie Tétreault: It’s pretty remarkable because, even before we started working on the game plan for this Davis Cup tie, and then when discussions began with Félix and his team,that’s when I realized he’s never played a Davis Cup match in the province of Quebec, period. It was already going to be special whether it was in Montreal or Quebec City, but I think it’s going to be even more special for him to have this opportunity to play in Quebec City, given his connection to the city. It’s not where he was born, but it’s still where he spent the first years of his life. His father has a tennis academy there that bears his name as well as Félix’s. Obviously, Félix is a huge star across the country, but especially in Quebec City, we really felt that from the excitement we saw after announcing that the tie would be held at Centre Vidéotron and I think all the stars were aligned for Quebec City to welcome Félix in September. Canada-France, it’s not every year that we get the chance to host a tie that’s this exciting. 

READ: Celebrating Canadian Tennis’ Golden Era

At first, we thought Centre Vidéotron wouldn’t be available. There were bookings already scheduled for the dates we needed but then a slot opened up and we were able to book it. When we toured the venue, it really hit us that wow, we’ve come a long way from some of those smaller events we’ve hosted where we struggled to generate the excitement we wanted, whereas now we’re dreaming of selling out Centre Vidéotron with Félix as the headliner. I expect it will be a great moment and I’d even say it will be one of the most important moments in the history of the Davis Cup in Canada.

Melissa Boyd: Serena's back! And played doubles with Canadian Victoria Mboko at Queen's. What do you think of her decision to come back at 44 years old with her two young daughters in tow? 

Valérie Tétreault: We were starting to expect it because the rumor mill had been in overdrive in recent months about Serena Williams’ return. It’s still incredible that she’s making a comeback like this. I think it shows her deep love for tennis and her need to push herself to new heights because we all know she has nothing left to prove. She’s already won everything; she’s already recognized as the greatest player of all time, she’s a tennis legend, but we all know that Serena never does anything just for the sake of it. If she’s coming back, it’s because she has something in mind and because she wants to win. I think it’s the right approach for her to take her time and allow herself to do this in stages, starting with doubles to see how her body reacts, how she handles her environment and her family, and how her performance stacks up against the caliber of the other players. In my opinion, it’s pretty clear that her intention is to play singles. 

And then, of course, it’s incredible that she chose Vicky as her partner for Queen’s. If we’d written a movie script, that’s how we would have written it—especially if the director were Canadian. It shows just how much Vicky is respected, how the eyes of the whole world are on her as the future of women’s tennis. She finds herself teaming up with the person she idolized growing up and who is probably one of the reasons she decided to play tennis and began dreaming of one day becoming the next Serena Williams.

Photo by: Martin Sidorjak