Memorial tennis tournament honours late Sarnia pro Justin Bourassa

Memorial tennis tournament honours late Sarnia pro Justin Bourassa

Third annual tournament has grown into one of Ontario's largest amateur tennis events

Justin Bourassa spent countless hours playing, coaching and promoting tennis in his hometown of Sarnia.

Nearly five years after his death, friends and family say an annual memorial tournament has become one of the best ways to honour his legacy while helping grow the sport he loved.

"He liked growing the game locally from people who never touched a tennis racket to the other side of the spectrum," said Matt Mueller, Bourassa's friend who was also coached by him. "He really cared about the community and about his people."

Bourassa, 29, died in hospital in October 2021, after he was fatally shot by a London police officer during an interaction. In May of this year, an inquest ruled his death a homicide and laid out recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths.

His death stunned his hometown, where he was well known in the local tennis and francophone communities.

Sarnia tennis pro's police shooting death a homicide, Ontario inquest jury rules in urging more training

Mueller launched the Justin Bourassa Memorial Tennis Tournament in 2024 to celebrate his friend's life and continue a dream they had shared.

"Justin always wanted to have a tournament that brought players from out of town because we don't have a whole lot of high level tennis in Sarnia," said Mueller.

"We started planning it, then COVID happened and then he passed away shortly after and he never got to see it happen. So after he passed, I figured what better way to keep his memory alive than to have this tournament."

Now in its third year, the Justin Bourassa Memorial Tennis Tournament has grown from a grassroots community tribute into one of the province's largest amateur tennis tournaments. It was officially sanctioned by the Ontario Tennis Association and Tennis Canada at the Open 1000 level, the highest amateur tournament designation in Canada.

This year's tournament begins on Wednesday and features a record $15,000 prize purse, with players travelling from across North America to compete. The event also includes local vendors, family activities, a silent auction and a raffle to win quarter-final box seat tickets to the U.S. Open.

Proceeds from the event running Wednesday through Sunday will go toward a foundation Bourassa's family started called Love-All, aimed at getting rackets into kids' hands, helping players get lessons and certifications and promoting tennis in Sarnia-Lambton.

Mueller first met Bourassa when he was 14 years old. What began as tennis lessons soon grew into a close friendship.

"He was like a big brother to me," said Mueller. "We spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours on court playing together, coaching together, training together. We travelled to tournaments together. He very much shaped who I am."

Bourassa's mother, Lorraine, said she continues to meet people whose lives were touched by her son.

"It warms my heart. Almost every day I have somebody come up to me and say 'I know who you are or I knew Justin', or they'll tell me a story about his kindness," said Lorraine.

"Justin had friendships across generations. There's young kids that knew him and older people that have now become my friends."

Bourassa discovered tennis at age 10 after watching a match on television. His mother enrolled him and his siblings in lessons, and by the following summer he was competing at the provincial level.

He later played in tournaments across Ontario and the United States before earning his coaching certification and teaching at local clubs and through City of Sarnia programs.

A memorial bench at the local tennis club bears the inscription: "Happiest on the tennis court, a kid at heart and loved by all."

Lorraine said those words perfectly capture who her son was.

For Bourassa's sister, Michelle, seeing hundreds of people gather each summer is a reminder that his influence continues.

"This tournament is one of the best ways we could honour Justin," she said. "For us as a family, it gives us a way to turn our grief into something positive and meaningful. Seeing everyone gathered together reminds us that Justin’s impact is still here."

She said her brother wanted to make tennis more accessible and would be proud to see the tournament continue to grow.

"For our family, it is emotional, but it is also something we are incredibly proud of. It means so much to see Justin remembered through something that brought him so much joy."

Isha Bhargava is a multiplatform reporter for CBC News and has worked for its Ontario newsrooms in Toronto and London. She loves telling current affairs and human interest stories. You can reach her at isha.bhargava@cbc.ca