National High-Performance Program
Tennis Canada provides extensive support to the Paralympic Stream or National Stream athletes with the long-term goal of podium results at the Paralympic and ParapanAm Games and World Team Cup. Benefits and services may include financial assistance for travel or training, coaching on the road, training camps, court privileges at National Tennis Centres, and access to sport specialists and the Sport Canada Athlete Assistance Program.
National Team Players
Did you know that our National High-Performance players are among the best players in the world? They have represented Canada at major international events, such as Paralympic and Parapan Am Games as well as World Team Cup. All the national team members play 10 to 15 tournaments on average per year as part of the ITF circuit all around the world. Get to know the players by clicking on their images below:
Successful Results
- Rob Shaw finished the 2022 tennis season with a career-high No. 6 quad singles ranking and qualified for the US Open as well as the Year-end Singles/Doubles Masters.
- Thomas Venos won his third consecutive NCAA singles title for the University of Alabama in 2022
- Rob Shaw is the first Canadian ever to win a singles gold medal at a multi-sports event at the 2019 Para Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru
- Sarah Hunter is the highest-ranked Canadian wheelchair tennis player in history. She reached world No. 2 in the quad division in 2003 and finished fourth place in doubles at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games
- Philippe Bedard and Joel Dembe are the first Canadian wheelchair tennis players to win a medal at multi-sports games by winning the doubles bronze medal at the 2015 Toronto Para Pan Am Games
- The Canadian teams posted strong results in the World Team Cup world group including: World Team Cup women’s team 4th place (1998, 2004, 2005, 2006), World Team Cup quad team 4th place (2003), and World Team Cup men’s team 8th place (1988, 1990, 2000)
National Development Program
Tennis Canada’s National Development Program for wheelchair tennis debuted in 2023. The program aims to provide support to promising players early in their development path to help them reach their full potential. Comprised of a pool of athletes who have shown initial abilities and commitment to training, the National Development Program is designed to progress players towards the National High-Performance Program with the support of Tennis Canada and its provincial partners.
2023 National Development Program Players
- Lachlan Sandford (junior): Mission, BC
- Samuel Peters (junior): Kelowna, BC
- John Chen (junior): Delta, BC
- Frédérique Bérubé Perron (junior): St-Bruno, QC
- Hisham Mohammad (quad): Hamilton, ON
- Candice Combdon (women): Barrie, ON
- Shawn Courchesne (men): Toronto, ON
