Tournament Director Q&A: Valérie Tétreault, Omnium Banque Nationale

In 2023, the Hologic WTA tour announced a major expansion to its 1000-level tournaments, promising deliver equal prize money to all 10 events that sit just below the Grand Slam events. With that promise came plans to transform seven of tournaments into two-week events, including the Omnium Banque Nationale in Montréal.

Montréal, which shares its space on the calendar with Toronto, welcomes WTA players every other year, but the event has become a permanent home for former Canadian contender-turned-tournament director Valérie Tétreault.

When the WTA first announced their plan, Tétreault hailed the path towards equal prize money and welcomed the changes set to come to her tournament in 2025.

“It’s quite demanding on both the mind and body to be in a new city every week, to be playing back-to-back matches,” she said at the time. “So, I think if you want to have a long career in tennis, you need to find the right balance to be able to have a life outside of the tennis courts. I think this new format will allow for that.”

Just over two years later, I spoke to a busy Tétreault on the eve of the 2025 Omnium Banque Nationale for insight on how the event had evolved in anticipation of the two-week format, creating a smooth transition from Canada into the following week’s Cincinnati Open, and how she responds to growing concerns from players about the tightening turnaround between Wimbledon and the US Open swing.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The way I see it, it’s not too different to compete in both Madrid and Rome in preparation for the French Open. So, the players are used to playing two 1000 tournaments before a Grand Slam. I think the key is to make sure that, because our tournament is a little later in the year, the players are still healthy. That’s why I do think that recovery becomes a priority. Valérie Tétreault on the Canada-Cincinnati double

TENNIS.com: I’m sure the work of a tournament director is never done, but at what point in the year do things start to become especially intense for you and your team in the lead up to the tournament?
TÉTREAULT: I would probably say around the beginning of May is when the intensity goes up a notch. Around that time and towards the beginning of the month of June, there’s no more time to debate about whether we want to do this or that. It’s more time to take some decisions and start executing. Every year, I find it crazy to see how, during several months, it’s all about the strategy, but over the last couple of weeks, just before the event, that’s when we really get things done. It seems to be like that every year, even though every year we feel like we’re going to be a little bit more ahead of our planning!

TENNIS.com: And gearing up for a slightly longer tournament this year, how has that affected your preparation?
TÉTREAULT: I think the big difference is that this one feels like it has been quite some time in the making. I would say that we started working on the 2025 edition of our tournament probably in the beginning of 2023. There were a lot of things to figure out, starting with the schedule, working with the tours and [the Cincinnati Open]. It probably took us a year of different conversations before we ended up with this format. What we were trying to do is make two 12-day main draws, so 24, and fit that into three weeks, which equals 21. So, fitting 24 into 21 was a big challenge, but I’m happy with how we landed. I think there’s going to be a lot of learnings for us and even for the players. If you look at us specifically, we’re probably the only tournament in the world that will be presenting our final in the middle of the week, on a Thursday night. So, that is quite unique! I think we need to go through this year before being able to assess if there needs to be any adjustments.

The other big part with this new format for us is being ready to host a lot more players. There’s probably double the players we’ll need to be hosting this year. We have limited space, so we had to be a little creative and innovative with the space that we have.

TENNIS.com: In addition to the increased on-court action, how much more on-site events or activities did you have to plan and create for this year’s event?
TÉTREAULT: There’s more of everything. We created an additional weekend of programming. Our Family Weekend is something that has worked well for us in the last few years, but now there’s an opportunity to do something for our middle weekend. We’re planning to open up the grounds for free with the goal of attracting new fans, people who may have never even watched tennis before. This will be a chance for them to enjoy our site, maybe watch some tennis on the screens or some doubles on the outside courts.

This year, a lot of our focus in terms of improving the fan experience has gone into the food we’ll be offering. We’re working with three new caterers. One of them is Sodexo, which has been involved with several other tournaments already, and we really wanted to up our game. We know that, besides the tennis, if there’s one thing that impacts the on-site experience positively or negatively, it’s through the food. A lot of our memories come from sharing food with others, so we’re hoping the fans will see the different.

We planned a Player Party, which we haven’t had since before the pandemic. We wanted to mark the fact that we had more players coming to Montréal, so that will be on the first Saturday night. We also added a big conference on gender equity, which will be taking place during our semifinals, when the site is closed. [WTA CEO] Portia Archer will be coming to be one of our panelists. Jessica Campbell, who is the first and only woman coach in the NHL, will be our keynote speaker. I’m quite happy to have this conference to create meaningful conversations about how, together, we can continue to bridge the gap in women’s sports.

We’ve heard some of the concerns, obviously, since 2023. I do think that, like in other areas of life, when you go through changes it feels uncomfortable at first. Sometimes you do need that little bit of time until you can make the most of those changes. Valérie Tétreault on the move towards two-week 1000-level tournaments

TENNIS.com: When we first spoke in 2023, we were just starting to see the increase in two-week tournaments, and you argued in favor of them, citing an ability to protect player’s mental health by reducing the amount of travel. What has the player feedback been this year, because it’s been a bigger change for the players than the tours may have anticipated?
TÉTREAULT: I’m also quite anxious to see what the feedback is going to be this year, because this is the first year that they will live this model in Canada and Cincinnati. We’ve heard some of the concerns, obviously, since 2023. I do think that, like in other areas of life, when you go through changes it feels uncomfortable at first. Sometimes you do need that little bit of time until you can make the most of those changes. I think that’s starting to be the case. I think the tours are also adjusting because some of the feedback has been this idea that, if you lose early, you’re stuck with a long time before your next match. With that in mind, we’re starting to see an increase in big Challenger tournaments being added to the schedule, so there are more options for players.

In terms of us, specifically, I find that we could be the right in-between, meaning that we’re not 14 days. It’s three weeks instead of four weeks if you look at the swing between Canada and Cincinnati. I do think that the way that we were before, obviously we saw in the last two years in Montréal, how much pressure there was on the schedule because of the amount of rain. Some of the players had to play two matches in one day, and that wasn’t ideal, physically or mentally.

I’m hopeful that this is the right in-between, but I am quite anxious and from what I’m hearing from the tours, they’re quite anxious to get the feedback and see how it’s perceived by the players.

TENNIS.com: You mentioned collaborating with the Cincinnati Open, what work are you doing to best incentivize players to compete in both tournaments before the US Open?
TÉTREAULT: I think we always had a good relationship with Cincinnati, and that continues to be the case. We put a system in place together where, the players who reach our final will get a private jet so it’s as easy as possible to get to Cincinnati. We worked on the schedule together to make sure it made sense for the players to play both events. It’s quite unfortunate to see so many withdrawals, especially in Toronto this year. I do think that this year, there was only two weeks between the end of Wimbledon and the start of our event. Next year, we go back to three weeks, and I think that will make a difference.

The way I see it, it’s not too different to compete in both Madrid and Rome in preparation for the French Open. So, the players are used to playing two 1000 tournaments before a Grand Slam. I think the key is to make sure that, because our tournament is a little later in the year, the players are still healthy. That’s why I do think that recovery becomes a priority.

TENNIS.com: How fluid is the situation with these longer tournaments, and how much are the 1000-level tournaments prepared to adjust to whatever feedback the players may ultimately have?
TÉTREAULT: I think most of us are convinced that this is the right thing for the players, the tournaments, the fans, and the growth of our sport. Let’s not forget, longer tournaments create additional opportunities for players to enjoy the tournament and watch tennis. Hopefully, that exposure inspires them to want to play the game.

I think we need to give ourselves a couple of years to make adjustments here and there, but I do think we have something that can work quite well.

I think that’s really good news for the players, for the young girls just starting to play tennis. Ideally, more of them can make a living from the sport because that keeps the dream alive. Valérie Tétreault on the promise of equal prize money in Montréal by 2027

TENNIS.com: How confident are you that the tournament will be able to achieve the goal of equal prize money by 2027?
TÉTREAULT: It was such great news for us in 2023 to announce this pathway towards equal prize money, and it’s something we believe is possible because of this 12-day model. We’re doing all we can to inform players so that they understand what’s at stake and what this model brings to them, as well. That way, they can get the full picture.

To think, I’ll be able to tell them, ‘By the next time you come to Montréal, we will have equal prize money,’ is quite amazing. You look at that growth projection, there’s already an increase this year. But two years from now, we’ll be at a prize pot that’s almost double what we have this year. I think that’s really good news for the players, for the young girls just starting to play tennis. Ideally, more of them can make a living from the sport because that keeps the dream alive.

TENNIS.com: Is there a particular activity on the grounds or new area of the site you’re most excited for fans to explore this year?
TÉTREAULT: There is so much to do on the grounds, so I really think that, when you do come to the National Bank Open in Montréal, you have to have the full experience. Yes, you need to Center Court to watch the tennis, but you also need to hit the outside courts and see players up close. You need to make sure you walk around the site to try some of the activations we have. There are some new restaurants on site, as well. I think we have a lot to offer. Our goal was to make sure we were as inclusive as possible and making this tournament one entirely for the fans. They’re the ones who make this event in the end, and I think Montréal has always been a tournament known for its great attendance. The players always talk about how our Center Court is packed from the beginning of the event to the end. That obviously creates a great atmosphere, so it was so important for us to be able to give back to the fans. I’m confident we accomplished that this year.