Boulais, Marino To Represent Canada In The 2023 Pan American Games

The 2023 Pan American Games are underway in Santiago, Chile, this week and a pair of Canadians are leading the charge.

Four years ago, a medal eluded the Canadian team at the Pan American games in Lima, but they hope to change their fortunes this time around.

In the men’s singles categories, only Justin Boulais will represent Canada. Currently ranked No. 629, the Canadian will look to gain some momentum in an otherwise difficult 2023.

While he hasn’t won a tournament in 2023 yet, he’s shown some promise. At the Granby Challenger 100 back in July, Boulais made it to the quarter-finals before losing to Australian Philip Sekulic in straight sets. Prior to that, he also made the quarter-finals at the M15 in Santo Domingo, but could not make it past his American opponent in Tauheed Browning.

The closest Boulais came to winning a tournament was in the inaugural edition of the M25 in Saint-Augustin. He had made it to the finals before dropping the match to Tunisian Aziz Dougaz, who’s currently looking to repeat his feat at this year’s edition of the tournament.

At the Pan American Games, Boulais secured himself a first-round bye which will point him towards a match against American Omni Kumar who is currently ranked No. 354. Unlike his Canadian counterpart, Kumar has secured a tournament victory in 2023. In April, Kumar took home the trophy at the M15 in Monastir.

In the women’s singles category, Rebecca Marino, seeded second, will begin the week by playing against 18-year-old Deborah Dominguez. Marino, who’s ranked No. 166, is looking to make a big splash in the Pan American Games since she has yet to win a tournament in 2023. She came close to taking home the trophy at the W100 in Granby but fell just short. She lost to Katherine Sebov, who also won the Saguenay National Bank Challenger this weekend, in three sets.

Both Boulais and Marino are teaming up in the Mixed Doubles category where they’ll take on the Honduran team composed of Natalie Espinal and Alejandro Obando. The winner of the first match will take on the Brazilian team made up of Luisa Stefani and Marcelo Demoliner.

Written By

Louis Pavlakos