By Mike McIntyre
While the top 50 players in the ATP World Tour rankings might be enjoying a pretty nice lifestyle and those within the top 100 a decent living as well, the world of professional tennis is anything but glamorous and financially rewarding for those who can't quite crack the upper echelon of the game. These grinders are among the best tennis players on the planet and yet for one reason or another haven't been able to enjoy a comfortable life from their chosen profession. It could be injuries, an inability to translate their immense talent in practice to real matches on a regular basis, a lack of funds for better coaching and training or perhaps just bad luck along the way.
In Canada we have had our fair share of players who fit the above description and who have been our foot soldiers who did their best to represent Canadian tennis year after year in Davis Cup and Fed Cup play at the International level as well as at our annual flagship of pro tennis - the Rogers Cup. One of these noble Canadian warriors, Philip Bester, has recently announced that he will be retiring from the sport in August at the conclusion of his home town tournament the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open which runs from August 12-20th. Bester made the announcement on July 26th after being ousted from the Granby National Bank Challenger.
"I’ve come to the end of my tennis journey and am closing the chapter in my competitive career," Bester shared with the crowd.
"The game of tennis has given me a once in a lifetime opportunity, which I am extremely grateful for as it has shaped me into the person I am today through all my experiences. I am at peace with this decision and excited to move forward and pursue the next challenges and opportunities in my life."
Bester fell in the opening round of Rogers Cup qualifying to Ireland's James McGee 7-6(2), 6-3 on Saturday to close the book on his playing career in Montreal.
Turning 29 in October, Bester was having less consistent results on the challenger and future Tour's in 2017. His singles ranking has fallen to 456th in the world.
Bester's most successful moment in tennis may have been from even before he turned pro. In 2006 he was a finalist at the Junior French Open falling to Martin Klizan 6-3, 6-1. That result did not translate to the pro level, but Bester has persevered and made a career out of it none the less.
Bester's career is clearly one of patience and passion. Nobody would play the sport primarily in its minor leagues for as long as he did were it not for a true love of the game. Only twice in his career did he make it to a Grand Slam (2011 Aussie Open and 2015 US Open) when he was ranked in the high 200's and in both cases fell in the opening round of qualifying.
At the Masters 1000 level he had more opportunities and that is directly related to the fact that Canada is fortunate enough to have its own event which alternates from Montreal to Toronto. It allows our players like Bester an opportunity to qualify each year if not give them an outright main draw wildcard.
Bester entered the Rogers Cup 10 times in his career (6 in qualifying and 4 in the actual event itself) and went 0-4 in main draw matches facing the likes of James Blake, Arnaud Clement and Gilles Muller. No easy task for any player, let alone one who was not regularly playing opponents of that consistent calibre. His main draw wildcards were given out mostly in his younger years back in 2005-2007 and once more in 2015 when he got his ranking up to a career best of 225. He went 2-6 in his qualifying attempts but was never able to quite crack the main event via that route. His biggest moment at the Rogers Cup may have been his off-court banter on Twitter with Nick Kyrgios in 2016. Kyrgios had just been shocked by 17 year old Canadian Denis Shapovalov in their opening round match and Bester tweeted a tongue-in-cheek jab at the Aussie No.1 eluding to his recent comments about how much Pokemon Go he played rather than practicing his tennis. See below for the rest of the exchange that brought on a few laughs.
In Davis Cup, Bester was always the consummate professional, supporting his teammates often from the sidelines and rarely getting a chance to suit-up for competition. His overall record in the prestigious international event was 2-4 including singles and doubles.
While Bester captured 9 ITF Future's titles in his career, it was at the Pan/Am Games held in Toronto in the summer of 2015 where Bester achieved one of his greatest tennis accomplishments. There he and Gaby Dabrowski claimed the silver medal in mixed doubles.
22 year old fellow Canadian Brayden Schnur had the following to say to me about the influence Bester has had on his young career.
"Ask anyone on tour, Phil's one of the good ones. I remember last summer when I was struggling to navigate the tour and handle booking flights, hotels, car rentals, and tournaments. I was making mistakes and it was costing me a fortune. Phil sat me down one day and he was like an open book. He said you have to get this app, you book flights here, hotels are on this site, you rent cars from here...he showed me the ropes. There's not a lot of guys on tour that are willing to sit down and educate a fellow player."
That pretty much sums up the kind of guy Bester is and reveals how well respected he is among his fellow-Canadian tennis players who no-doubt have looked up to him for his efforts on and off of the tennis court. While his own impact on the professional tour had its limits, Bester gave his best and has done his part to help Canadians players following in his footsteps to have their chance to enjoy a professional tennis career as well.