Growing up, Tina Blaskovic was surrounded by sport. Her father, Mario Blaskovic, was a professional soccer player in Croatia, who eventually immigrated his family to Canada to continue his soccer career at the next level. He went on to play several seasons for the Toronto Metros-Croatia, a team in the North American Soccer League (NASL); the league which preceded and set the foundation for Major League Soccer (MLS) as we know it today. In 1976, the Toronto Metros-Croatia became the first ever Canadian team to win a NASL championship.
Religiously attending his practices and games as a young girl, Tina would eventually grow up to follow in his footsteps. Much like her father, she would go on to forge a career as a professional athlete. But her path wasn’t so linear. Worried she would become injured, Tina’s father never wanted her to pursue soccer, the natural option for the daughter of a Toronto Metros-Croatia player, and Blaskovic instead took up tennis at age thirteen.
After spending years watching tennis on television and admiring other women competing in the Canadian Open, now branded as the National Bank Open, that she would attend each year in Toronto, Blaskovic decided to try the sport for herself. She competed in her first tournament at age seventeen, where in her own words, she “got her butt kicked, but didn’t give up”. Instead, she worked hard and learned from her mistakes, and her journey to a professional career in tennis began. One year after her first tournament loss, Blaskovic came back and won her first tournament at age eighteen. From here, she began competing in provincial and national tournaments for the remainder of her junior tennis career.
At twenty-one, Blaskovic’s journey in athletics took an unexpected turn, when her friends needed additional players to compete with them in their provincial soccer league. After much hesitation, having never played the sport before, Blaskovic agreed to give it a chance and join them. “I only ever intended to play a game or two, that’s it,” she said, “it wasn’t something I saw going anywhere or intended to do long-term”. But this foresight couldn’t have been further from the result. A few games later, Blaskovic had joined West Rogue and later joined the Scarborough Azzurri, both Toronto based teams within the Ontario league. She grew to live and breathe soccer, and spent three seasons as a top goalscorer and overall point earner in the league, before moving on to her next venture in the sport. “It was always in my blood, I think it still is”, she said while recounting how she used to cry as a child when she could not attend her fathers soccer games and practices, “It just took me a while to realize it was something I was meant to do.” In 1998, a milestone year in Blaskovic’s personal career, she was invited to join the Canadian Women’s National team, which went on to win gold at the Concacaf Championship (FIFA World Cup Qualifiers) against Mexico that year, and would later be recognized as a Canada Soccer Team of Distinction in 2015. Blaskovic made five international appearances representing Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team, scoring her first goal for Canada in her 1998 debut game.
In 1999, Tina joined the Toronto Inferno of the USL W-League, marking the beginning of her professional soccer career. At the time, professional women’s sports were near non-existent, and finding sponsors or funding proved a real challenge. Luckily, Blaskovic’s former provincial coach took much of the financial burden of establishing the first Canadian team in the W-League upon himself. “He believed in it, and he loved soccer”, said Blaskovic, “without him and his passion, it’s hard to know how women’s soccer in Canada would have turned out”. Blaskovic went on to play four seasons for the Inferno, ranking as a top player both by goals and overall points every year. In 2001, she became the first player on a Canadian W-League team to win awards for league MVP, most goals, and most overall points in a single season. Blaskovic spent the remainder of her soccer career going back and forth between the Canadian Women’s National team and the Toronto Inferno.
Blaskovic stepped back from soccer in 2003, but her career as a professional athlete was only just beginning. In the midst of her soccer career, she had never stepped away from tennis. “I was always playing and working in tennis throughout, I just didn’t have the time to compete,” she says, “my boss was nice enough to accommodate my schedule when I needed to attend soccer games or training camps”. After retiring from soccer, Blaskovic threw herself into tennis full-force. She began playing more and more tournaments, eventually representing Canada internationally. In 2003, she ranked 1st in Canada in doubles, and 2nd in singles. She represented Canada at five world championships, twice in Turkey and three times in Florida, and at age thirty-five, Blaskovic ranked 7th in the world in singles and 8th in doubles. At age forty, she remained in the top ten for both.
Today, Blaskovic remains heavily involved in athletics, particularly tennis, where she continues to work as a Tennis Pro in Toronto. She spent over twenty-three years as the Head Tennis Pro of a club in Woodbridge, where she helped them grow their youth, adult, and women’s programs, before moving to a prestige club in downtown Toronto, where she currently works as their only female Tennis Pro. Blaskovic’s love of tennis has never wavered and although she no longer competes in the sport, she estimates she teaches anywhere from forty to forty-five hours of tennis a week. When asked about her favorite part of her job, Blaskovic responded that to her, it’s all about the people. “It’s a job that allows you to form long-term relationships with your clients,” she said, “you start seeing people when they’re just beginners, and you watch them grow to the level where they can compete and enjoy the sport”. Notably, she instructs many high-profile individuals, including National Hockey League players, musicians and other public figures. “It’s an awesome feeling to have people you watch and admire on TV coming to you for tennis advice.”
Her work in athletics has also allowed her the opportunity to continue advocating for other female athletes. She recounts how during her career, particularly in soccer, sports lacked opportunities for women to advance and reach the next level. “We played because we loved the sport and we loved our country, but the money just wasn’t there, it wasn’t sustainable”, but Blaskovic notes that she’s happy with the direction female sports is headed, “it’s great to see women’s sports evolving to what its supposed to be, there’s somewhere now for girls to go, they can support themselves and their getting the representation they deserve.” During Blaskovic’s days with the Toronto Inferno, they averaged a mere 1000 fans per game, were not paid a living wage, and had no games televised. Today, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), founded in 2012, averages at just under 10,000 fans per game, pays players an average salary of $65,000 and games can be accessed by fans on ESPN Platforms, CBS Sports, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount +.
“We’ve finally reached a point where girls can grow up dreaming about being a professional athlete the same way boys always have.” says Blaskovic, “My whole life is sport, I watch it, I play it, I live it, and I’ve been doing that my entire life. Seeing where women’s sports are today, and how far they’ve come in the last twenty years while knowing I played even a small role as a part of the Toronto Inferno and the Women’s National team; it’s amazing to experience.”
Being the only female Tennis Pro at her current club, it’s not uncommon for female clients to specifically seek her expertise. Not only do women like Blaskovic provide a level of comfort to females looking to take up the sport of tennis that may not be possible with a male coach, but they also serve as role models to the countless young girls who see that women can be Tennis Pros too.
It’s evident that Tina Blaskovic continues to set an amazing example for girls and women in the world of sport, not just through her impressive career as a duo-sport athlete, but also in her determination, perseverance and positive attitude. As someone who has been fortunate enough to know Tina personally for the last 8 years, I can also say that she is an amazing person, and someone I’m very proud to have as a role model in my own life.