Canada’s Wheelchair Elite Off to Sweden for World Team Cup

June 5, 2007

The country’s top wheelchair tennis athletes are currently en route to Stockholm, Sweden where they will take part in the 2007 World Team Cup from June 11-17.

Yann Mathieu, Lee Carter and Corey Blatchford make up this year’s Canadian men’s team while Helene Simard and Annie Morissette will be the Canadian contingent on the women’s side. Yuka Chokyu was also named to the team, but was forced to withdraw due to medical reasons. Meanwhile, Sarah Hunter and Adrian Dieleman will represent Canada in the quad division.

Mathieu is currently ranked No. 33 in the world and trains out of Stade Uniprix. Carter was a member of the ITF development team in 2006 while Blatchford is presently an ITF development team member. Simard, who stands at No. 18 on the women’s singles rankings, will be making her third appearance at the World Team Cup. Hunter, ranked No. 4 in the world, was the 2006 national champion in the quad division and recently reached the final in singles and doubles at the Japan Open, an ITF Super Series event, which is equivalent to contending for a Grand Slam on the ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA tours.

The World Team Cup is similar to the Davis Cup and Fed Cup competitions for elite able-bodied players. The event was created in 1985 due to the growth of foreign participation in the US Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships. It began as a warm-up tournament prior to the US Open and today has become one of the biggest events on the wheelchair tennis calendar with more than 300 players competing each year.