August 2, 2025
Sobeys Stadium (Capacity: 10,876)
Toronto, ON
Alexei Popyrin vs Holger Rune
Final Score: 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
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While visiting family in Upstate New York, I took the opportunity to cross the border into Canada to see a tennis tournament. Making it a day trip wasn’t the best idea as a closure of the QEW for an accident led to a 1+ hour delay. Thankfully we still made it in time and got to see a full match. The tournament was in Toronto, Ontario and this city on the shores of Lake Ontario is home to over two and a half million making it Canada’s largest. I’ve been here before and have marveled at what a beautifully clean and modern cosmopolitan city it is. In fact, Toronto is so diverse that nearly half of its population comes from outside of the country. There’s plenty to do and it is a great place to visit. The Canadian Open (now branded as the “National Bank Open”) is one of tennis’ top hardcourt tournaments as it is a Masters 1000 event. Uniquely, when the tour comes to Canada, players are split as the Men and Women go to alternating cities each year. For my visit in 2025, the ATP was in Toronto and the WTA in Montreal. This tournament has a long history, going all the way back to the 1800s. Since the Open era, it has always played host to the biggest names in the sport and in more recent times, Djokovic, Federer and Nadal have all taken home multiple trophies from Canada. This year’s event became even bigger, extending to 12 days and 96 players in the Singles Draw. It’s a questionable move that not only meant a Thursday Final, but also the Top 3 players did not come. Sobeys Stadium replaced an outdated Centre Court at the same site in 2004 and it’s a fine show court.
Prestige Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Location
Many of the reasons that people come to Toronto is for what lies downtown. That includes the CN Tower, the Hockey Hall of Fame, St. Lawrence Market and the Royal Ontario Museum. Unfortunately, the tennis center is a good distance from that: 10 miles (17 kilometers) as the crow flies, but much longer by car or mass transit (40-60 minutes). The tennis area is in North York and this district almost behaves like its own city because it actually used to be one. There’s even a cluster of skyscrapers on Yonge Street. In the northwest part of the district (just steps from the separate city of Vaughn) is Sobeys Stadium and the many courts that make up the facility. It’s on the campus of York University as a road separates this otherwise tree-filled area from the cluster of campus buildings. Also within walking distance is The Village at Black Creek, a re-creation of what life was like in 1860s Toronto. If hours weren’t so limited / late to open (11a – 4p), this would be a good family place to visit before a Day Session.
Location Ranking: 5.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Driving in and around Toronto can be a nightmare as construction and often heavy traffic takes a toll on drivers. Getting to the tennis center from the heart of the city will likely be a pain and it’s definitely worth considering taking the Subway. Operated by TTC, the Pioneer Village station on Line 1 takes about 40 minutes from downtown’s Union Station. It’s then a 10-minute walk from that TTC Station to the entry gate. Now if you are coming from other places in Ontario (or the States), driving might be the better option, it just comes with pain points. Sobeys Stadium is just a few minutes from the Jane Street Exit off Highway 407. This leads to a streamlined, simple entry, plus the 407 will avoid a good amount of traffic. It comes at a price though as it is a toll road where costs can get as high as $30 – $50 when entering from Burlington. Our long travels made us bite the toll bullet. At least it was quick and easy. The other route is getting on Highway 400 (also close to the Tennis Center) via the more congested 401 and 403. This was our route home and even at 10 PM, it was full of cars. The several large parking lots near the stadium require passes ahead of time (these may be incorporated into your ticket), otherwise the lone drive-up and pay lot is the TTC one north of Steeles Ave. The day we came had mysteriously free parking. From this lot, it is a looong 20-minute journey along a pathway to the stadium.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 5 out of 8
Exterior
The stadium has no character as the concrete edifice has ads and banners placed all over it. That’s not a bad thing given that you’d otherwise be looking at a drab gray. There just isn’t much to get excited about. Sobeys gets close to the nearby road and only 3 sides are really visible to fans as you come into the complex.
Exterior Ranking: 3 out of 10
Concourse
They jam a lot of things into the grounds with the main stadium near the entrance and the grandstand at the far end. The creation of this Village aims to make it a daylong event as there is live music, plenty of Happy Hour specials and a Fan Zone with several games to be played. It can be tough to maneuver, especially before evening play begins. Otherwise, the look is classy and the food court has easy to read menus and a good amount of covered tables as finding a seat isn’t too difficult. Inside Sobeys Stadium, there is a traditional concourse as well. Stairs are needed to reach the 100 level and you can walk all the way around this covered section that is exposed on the sides. Several openings lead into the bowl and food/drink stands are plentiful enough. Bathrooms can be problematic between sets as lines get lengthy. Up on the 300 level, there is outdoor space to stretch and you can walk all the way around. Bathrooms are temporary up here and only hold one person at a time. Also strange is that tunnels are created underneath each of the six bleacher sections. It’s certainly a different/cheaper vibe up here.
Concourse Ranking: 3 out of 5
Food
There is some high-quality food here…things you wouldn’t normally see at a sporting event like Lobster from Prince Edward Island and Spicy Tuna Poke Bowls. There’s also elevated classics: Tacos (Al Pastor, Birria or Tofu) and Burgers with Angus Beef. Canada is represented with various Poutine options and Southern-Ontario stone cooked Pizzaville. That’s all found on the grounds, while a few other options are had in the stadium. Toronto is a tennis place where the alcohol is flowing and cocktails are plentiful. The signature is Dirty Devil Vodka with Dragon Fruit Lemonade, Grapefruit Juice and Seltzer. There’s plenty of wine and beer too (Mill Street is the local product). To end the day or night on a high-note, head to Beavertails for the iconic Canadian brand’s pastry.
Food Ranking: 7 out of 8
Interior
Sobeys Stadium’s main bowl is set-up well for tennis and it features an octagon like design. Along the sides are five sections and the higher you go, a steepness is introduced with a fan effect. It leads to a debate between sightline vs closeness. Corner sections are set further back and that gives a disjointed look as the seating bowl doesn’t really flow together. Baseline sections are standard. You’ll find some specialty seating at the bottom as well, whenever you see a fancy chair. Otherwise, the seats are a dark blue and the comfort is fine. A suite level is found surrounding the entire top of the lower deck. Then, things get weird. On top of the suites is an open platform and temporary(?) bleachers are set-up in 6 locations. It really gives the stadium a cheapened look and while I like an upper-deck feel, you really can’t call it an upper deck. These gray seats are small and flimsy. At least it gives the stadium a cheap seat option (we sat up here for $55). There is no roof or cover at Sobeys, not ideal given the day session matches in the August sun. Beyond the stadium views include various generic buildings around the area.
Interior Ranking: 9 out of 14
Scoreboard
There is a videoboard in two corners of the stadium and it is quite small, especially in this day and age. Seeing the score is fine, but any type of video requires some squinting. At first, replays of points were limited. During the 3rd set, they were showing more, something I was looking for.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2 out of 4
Displays
I was fooled while walking the grounds as there was this Lindt’s Chocolate tent that included a trophy in the room. Thinking maybe this was the replica hardware given to the winner, it wasn’t and further punishment was sitting through a spiel promoting Lindt’s Rewards. Otherwise, the only displays were on the stadium concourse level, where support columns had past winner pictures. There also was an info board for the 2022 Davis Cup winning Canadian team, though it was hidden behind old concourse tables. Outside the stadium is a large bracket that is updated as the tournament goes along.
Displays Ranking: 1.5 out of 6
Cost
Going to a Masters 1000 event in Toronto is expensive, but if you pick your spots, the price can be manageable. Let’s start with tickets. The first couple rounds, you can get in for less than $100 as even the lower bowl seats in the main stadium start at $65. It goes up a lot for the Round of 16 with pricing from the tournament website running $160 – $285 for the 100 level and $95 – $105 for the 300s. Since the biggest stars weren’t playing, we were able to score on the secondary market with a get-in price of $65 (plus it’s even cheaper if you’re an American and the Exchange Rate is in your favor). A seat for the Final is really high: $200 – $450. These overall prices are not much different when comparing it to the other 1000-level event in Cincinnati as unfortunately over the last decade, there’s a segment of the crowd that has allowed and driven up these big price increases. Back to Toronto, parking closeby will be expensive and thankfully there is an option to keep that cheaper by using the subway or the TTC lot (often $7 and free on the night I went). Food prices are expectedly high: $18 – $25 for real meal and $12 – $20 for a beer or cocktail. The burger was the only real deal at $9.75.
Cost Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Fan Support
From the early rounds right through the final, Sobeys Stadium often has a good-sized crowd on hand. The event is well supported in Toronto whether it’s the Men or Women. We were there for a 7 PM Round of 16 match and the stadium was about 75% full. It did empty out for the second match, which is understandable given that one began at 9:45 PM. If a Canadian or a big star is playing, the show court can have a legit sellout. This year’s Monday final (Shelton vs Khachanov) looked like it played to 85% capacity.
Fan Support Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
Things were pretty neutral for our matchup and it was expectedly quiet to start. The crowd got more vocal late in a set or for break points and such. Several people would shout the name of a player and in the case of Popyrin, we’d get a few “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie…Oy, Oy, Oy” chants. I’ve seen on TV prior times when Canadians are involved, the crowd is really good with loud pops after points and great noise for encouragement. Montreal gets the slight edge over Toronto when it comes to this, but they’re both decent.
Atmosphere Ranking: 10 out of 14
Other Stuff
For the last few years, Canadian Wildfires have been a real problem as their frequency has increased markedly. It also leads to smoke in the atmosphere across North America. On a comfortable night, a northwest breeze brought in this smoke from the fires in Central Canada. A thick haze was evident in the sky and you could even see the particles underneath the light fixtures. Thankfully, the air quality wasn’t lowered significantly and you couldn’t smell it……Speaking of the lights, they shine down and not outward. A nice little feature as they aren’t blaring into your eyes when you look up…..Airplanes are often heard and visible during matches as the stadium is not too far from Pearson Airport…..Many of the suites were empty for our match. Very surprising as I figured this event would be a corporate showy, take the clients kind of thing. Especially since we’re in Toronto…..Right near the facility, two men in 2015 tried to build a man-cave. A literal cave underground. They got pretty far until stopped by police.
Match
There’s something about Canada that Alexei Popyrin must love. He stunningly won the tournament in 2024 and this year, despite coming in with a 11-15 record, he knocked off multiple seeded players to make a deep run. In this Round of 16 battle, Popyrin amazingly went 0 for 11 on break points and lost the first set 6-4. He came back to take the final two sets thanks to 14 aces and 13 winners as it was an entertaining battle with Rune.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
