All eyes will be on Quebecer Eugenie Bouchard in Saturday's Wimbledon tennis final.
Win or lose, the 20-year-old phenom is now one of the top ten players in the world.
She is an icon, and nowhere more so than here in Montreal.
At Uniprix Stadium, the line-up for the Rogers Cup next month has lots of superstars on the list but Bouchard is the one boosting ticket sales.
“This week it's been unbelievable. A month before our event timing couldn’t be better,” said Louis-Philippe Dorais, director of communications and marketing for Tennis Canada.
No question Bouchard will be riding a wave when she plays at Jarry Park
“She has the crowd behind her and we'll make sure she feels it,” Dorais said.
The Genie effect can be felt from sporting goods stores to tennis camps where the youngest players say they too want to reach top.
Kids are starting to play tennis at younger and younger ages and tennis Montreal is offering lessons for kids as young as three years old with smaller rackets and low-pressure balls that are designed especially for them.
Tennis coach Nicolas Larose says kids learn a lot about themselves playing the sport.
“You have to learn when to be calm and when to be aggressive,” he explained.
He says Bouchard is having a lasting impact as a role model.
“You can see with the matches like Eugenie she's playing for maybe an hour and a half two hours so it's really, really hard for the mental and for the body.”
