From August 3-5, Tennis Canada hosted the National Bank Open’s inaugural wheelchair tennis exhibition in Toronto at Sobeys Stadium.
Thomas Venos was crowned the tournament’s first-ever champion, winning all his round-robin matches against three of Canada’s best; Shawn Courchesne, Rob Shaw, and Barry Henderson.
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But the competition was more than just a trophy up for grabs. It was an opportunity to showcase their abilities, bringing high-level wheelchair tennis to fans during the week of Canadian tennis’ biggest event.
“[The National Bank Open] did a really good job in promoting this,” Venos said. “Our first day, we had a really good crowd for our first singles matches, and then a few of the doubles matches had a great crowd, so hopefully more and more people will get to see wheelchair tennis.”
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While the round-robin singles play only featured men’s players, women’s world No. 46 and Canadian No. 1 Anne-Marie Dolinar hit the court for the final doubles match and had a lot of praise for her teammate and the event.
“It was lots of fun to play doubles with the guys. Couldn’t have asked for a better partner than Thomas [Venos],” Dolinar said. “It’s clear from the many small interactions I’ve had around the grounds the last few days that featuring adaptive sport is a win-win, creating greater exposure and awareness.”
Photo: Barry McCluskey
The exhibition officially concluded on Centre Court on Wednesday. Venos received his trophy – fresh off his first titles of the year in Windsor last week – but all players were honoured for their participation in a special moment in front of family, friends, and fans alike.
“Being able to share this great experience with my family is something I will cherish for the rest of my life,” Courchesne said. “Looking up from Centre Court and seeing my wife and daughter supporting me makes me want to push myself more and to one day become a Paralympian.”
Photo: Peter Power
With wheelchair tennis already at all four Grand Slams, the National Bank Open joined the Miami Open and Italian Open as the only ATP Masters 1000 events to host a wheelchair tennis tournament as the sport continues to take steps in the right direction.
“I think we’re still looked at, in the Parasport world, as an off-brand of the standup style of whatever sport you play,” two-time Paralympian Shaw said. “To have us come here, play on the big courts, kind of shows that we belong and the work we put in is rewarded. I hope that long term, as we keep on coming back, that we can become part of the tennis culture and not just wheelchair tennis in a silo.”
And, as wheelchair tennis continues to gain exposure, the sport will carry on growing while creating pathways to those who want to one day be among Canada’s, and the world’s, best.
“I lost my leg in 1991 and didn’t find wheelchair tennis until 2015,” 2023 Parapan Am athlete Henderson said. “I think it’s really important for people with disabilities to recognize that a wheelchair is just a piece of sporting equipment.”
Now, with the National Bank Open’s inaugural wheelchair tennis exhibition in the books, the tournament served as a warmup for the next big event in the Canadian wheelchair tennis calendar.
Many of the players will compete in the Birmingham Wheelchair Tennis Classic in September and, for Shaw, next up is a stop in Flushing Meadows for the U.S. Open.
Feature Photo: Barry McCluskey
