OMNIUM BANQUE NATIONALE

July 27, 2025

Marina Stakusic

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Hard luck today. What made Jacqueline just such a tricky opponent today?

MARINA STAKUSIC: You know, I think I came out pretty strong. I played well the first set, but she just kept hanging in there. She didn't give me many free points, and she served really well. She was pretty level-headed the whole match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Last year you got your first WTA 1000 win in this tournament. This year today didn't go your way in the end, but you still managed to take a set off a top-50 player. Do you feel like this tournament brings the best out of you?

MARINA STAKUSIC: Yeah, absolutely. It's always such a nice feeling to play in Canada and have the whole crowd support you. I think that's why I always play good tennis here.

Yeah, I think it's just the energy from everybody and having the support like nowhere else in the world. That's what makes me play my best here.

Q. You talk about the crowd. They were really with you today. Do you think that helped, especially in the first set?

MARINA STAKUSIC: Yeah, for sure. They give me a lot of energy to keep going. I feel great when I have a lot of support on my side. There's not many tournaments that you have support like this, except for when we're in Canada. Yeah, I think it helped me for sure in the first set.

Q. I guess just going from here, I think you're entered into an ITF event I think next week in Pennsylvania.

MARINA STAKUSIC: Sorry? Next week? Yeah, yeah.

Q. In the lead-up to the US Open, just kind of what are your plans?

MARINA STAKUSIC: Yeah, I've had a shoulder injury for a few months now. This is my first match back. I'm just going to see how it is, how it is in the next few days, my shoulder, how it holds up.

Then, yeah, I'm signed up for an ITF also next week, so I'll see. I'll try and probably play that if my shoulder is good to just get some more matches, and then nothing until US Open.

Q. I know you've played the Billie Jean King Cup with Genie Bouchard. I was just curious to know what she has meant to you, like how well you've known her, and what she meant to you when you were younger.

MARINA STAKUSIC: Yeah, I got to know her for the first time at Billie Jean King Cup. She's extremely cool, chill, laid back, which was really fun. She's fun to be around.

Yeah, for me growing up, she was kind of the first Canadian that I started watching, female Canadian, when she made the finals of Wimbledon. Yeah, she's always been an inspiration. She has been for a lot of Canadians.

Sad to see that this is her last tournament, but I got to know her, and she was really cool and fun to be around.

Q. Sometimes we see like these big tournaments that you can play like as a wild card in Canada, they bring you opportunities to train with the best. Did you have this chance this week, and did it learn you anything?

MARINA STAKUSIC: Yeah, always at these big tournaments it's nice. There's all the top players, so you can train with them, you can play against them, see where your level is at. Yeah, I think it always helps just to train with them and see how they do things and stuff, yeah.

Q. I just had a follow-up on what you said about Genie. What did you like about her as a kid? What do you think made her such a charismatic figure?

MARINA STAKUSIC: I think that the way she played her very aggressive game style, taking the ball really early, staying on the baseline always. She played very fast, and she fought. I like those things about her.

I think, yeah, what she did for Canadian tennis was great.