A Montreal tennis player competing at Wimbledon took to Twitter to express her disappointment that she was forgotten by Tennis Canada in a promotional video for Canada’s 150th birthday.
Françoise Abanda, 20, reached the second round at Wimbledon Monday with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Japan's Kurumi Nara.
Currently at 143 in the WTA standings, Abanda said in a tweet that she was "So disappointed @TennisCanada forgot or should I say excluded me from this video” then sharing the promotional video.
So disappointed @TennisCanada forgot or should I say excluded me from this video... https://t.co/3CceuVRJpF
— Françoise Abanda (@franckie12345) July 1, 2017
The video features other Canadian tennis players, like Bianca Andreescu, Carson Branstine, Denis Shapovalov, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Aleksandra Wozniak, Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil.
Canada’s top-standing female player, Eugenie Bouchard, is also seen in the video, though she doesn’t speak. Bouchard, of Westmount, lost her opening match at Wimbledon.
“I’ve been playing for Canada for many years. I’ve always put on a great show for Fed Cup representing Canada. For me, I feel like whenever I play Fed Cup, they don’t forget to call me, but sometimes when it’s a video like that they forget to mention me, but I think it’s a bit unacceptable. I think I’ve done a lot for Canada,” she said in a TSN interview.
Abanda mentioned how Canadian Olympic gold medallist Daniel Nestor is also omitted from the video.
“It’s just unfortunate. If they’re going to to put in so many players, they need to put everyone in, because we as players watch, and we see that, and it can be kind of touchy for some players," she said.
Tennis Canada spokesperson Valerie Tetreault issued a statement from their organization.
"This video is still a work-in-progress, and not a reflection of all the athletes who have helped Canadian tennis over the years. There are so many great athletes who have represented Canada so well and helped shape the sport in Canada, including Francoise," it said.
"We hope to add more players to the video, scheduling permitted, before a final version is displayed during Rogers Cup in August. We are incredibly proud of Francoise, her commitment to representing Canada, and all of her great success including most recently qualifying for Wimbledon. We wish her all the best in her upcoming first-round match and will be cheering her on."