Tennis could also be a primarily particular person sport, however some staff tennis is at all times a pleasant deal with. The qualifying rounds for the wheelchair World Group Cup happened final week and the Canadians have been proper within the thick of it.
Regional {qualifications} have been happening with spots within the World Group on the road in Could in Antalya, Turkey. Regardless of some sturdy performances nonetheless, the Canadian groups have been unable to punch their tickets.
The Americas qualification happened in Lima, Peru with Canada’s males’s and girls’s groups trying to advance to the World Goup.
Seven groups have been within the males’s competitors, which meant a spherical robin adopted by a knockout stage.
Led by Thomas Venos and Shawn Courchesne, the Canadians went 2-1 in pool play, beating the host Peruvians and Guatemala, however falling to Colombia. Venos went 3-0 in singles within the group stage whereas profitable two out of three in doubles with Courchesne, who went 1-2 in his singles matches.
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Their run ended within the semis, the place the Canadians misplaced to the eventual winners Chile 2-0, with each singles matches ending in straight-set losses. Canada ended up ending fourth, shedding to Ecuador 2-1 in a tie that was determined by the doubles.
There have been solely 5 groups within the girls’s occasion, so there was only one massive spherical robin to determine who would transfer on to the World Group.
The Canadian girls acquitted themselves properly, going 2-2 general within the group by defeating Ecuador and Peru, however shedding to Colombia and Chile.
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Anne-Marie Dolinar went 3-1 in her singles matches, whereas Natalia Lanucha put up a 2-2 report. Of their three doubles matches, the Canadian squad rolled out three completely different pairs. Lanucha and Frederique Berube Perron, who was making her debut for Canada on the World Group Cup, have been the one ones to win a accomplished match, scoring a victory to finish the sweep of Peru.
Dolinar and Lanucha misplaced their one accomplished match in opposition to Chile however acquired a free win in a walkover in opposition to Colombia. Berube Perron and Dolinar misplaced in opposition to Ecuador after Canada had already received each singles matches.
Canada completed third within the group, not sufficient to advance to the World Group.
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On the opposite aspect of the Pacific Ocean, Canada’s quad staff, led by world No. 9 Rob Shaw, seemed to punch their ticket on the qualifying occasion in Thailand.
The quad staff had the same outcome to the lads’s squad over in Lima, ending second of their spherical robin group earlier than shedding to Chile within the semifinals.
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Within the group stage, Canada defeated the Republic of Korea 2-1 however misplaced to Australia, together with a singles loss through retirement for Shaw in opposition to his standard doubles accomplice Heath Davidson.
Hisham Mohammad subbed in for Shaw within the semifinals, his first match for Canada on the World Group Cup, however was defeated by Chile’s Diego Perez. Mitch McIntyre rounded out the Canadian staff, however went 0-3 in his singles matches. He did decide up a doubles win with Shaw within the tie with Korea.
Regardless of the Canadian groups failing to qualify for the World Group, participation within the qualifying was important for Paralympic eligibility.
On the Board in 2024
Again originally of March, Shaw received his first title of the season on the Georgia Open.
He and Davidson defeated Andy Lapthorne and Gregory Slade of Nice Britain 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 to say the title. Within the semis, they beat the American-Brazilian staff of Hunter Groce and Ymanitu Silva 6-2, 6-2.
The doubles crown was the twenty fourth on the ITF Tour in Shaw’s profession. He received 4 titles every of the final two years and has received a number of titles in yearly (aside from the COVID-affected 2020 and 2021) since 2016.
Highway to the Paralympics
As of March 20, Shaw stays the lone Canadian positioned to qualify for the 2024 Paralympic Video games in Paris. He’s in a cushty place, with over 400 factors separating him and the following participant out.
Venos and Lanucha are each at present 23 spots out of qualifying for his or her respective attracts. Venos is only a mere 127 factors again of an Olympic spot nonetheless. Lanucha has an extended street, sitting slightly below 500 factors again of the qualifying zone.
