It’s extremely rare in the tennis world for a player to win two titles in a week. With the nature of tournament structures, to do so usually involves winning both singles and doubles at the same event. But a unique opportunity arose for Shawn Courchesne last week and he took full advantage.
Setubal, Portugal, played host to a pair of ITF wheelchair events over a six-day span and both tournaments saw the same man, Courchesne, lift the quad singles trophies.
Here is the monthly wheelchair tennis update.
The first event, the Setubal Wheelchair International Open, was a five-player round robin for the quad division. Courchesne got off to a brilliant start, winning his first three matches over the first two days of the event with the loss of a mere two games while dishing out four bagels.
That set up a clash with top seed Justin Michel of France in the final match of the round robin, which was the de facto final as both men were undefeated and the winner would take the group and the title. Courchesne rallied from a set down to claim the win 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and the title. It was the first ITF title of the Canadian’s career.
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“Great match today. I learned a lot with this one match,” said Courchesne after the final. “I didn't know my opponent and didn't know how he played, so I came in pretty open-minded and played solid for the first games. I already started thinking of my trophy. Slowly, he got one game after the other and there goes the first set 4-6. I refocused, set a game plan, executed my plan, and took the second set. In the third set, I followed the same game plan and made my shots and took that set.
“Overall, I'm really happy with the way I played to win my first ITF singles title. Shout out to my wife for always supporting me and letting me play tennis!”
There was no time to bask in the glow of victory, though, as the XII Open Baia de Setubal kicked off the very next day.
This time, it was a knockout draw. Courchesne defeated Brit Nathan Freeman 6-0, 6-1 in his opening match to set up a semifinal clash with top seed Marcus Laudan of Germany. The Canadian scored the upset, winning 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 to advance to the final.
For the second time that week, it was Courchesne against Michel for the title. This time, the Canadian got the job done in straight sets 6-4, 6-0, to grab another trophy in Portugal.
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“Another great match today. My opponent played well in the first set. We had some close points, but my serve and my focus on the game plan got me the win,” analysed Courchesne. “In the second set, I was playing with a lot of confidence and couldn't miss my shots, which in the end got me a pretty easy win.”
“Overall, I had a great two-tournament run in Portugal and am very happy with the way I played. This one is for you, Oakley! Daddy's coming home!”
Courchesne’s two wins were the first singles titles of 2025 by a Canadian on the ITF wheelchair tour.
Anne-Marie Dolinar also competed in the women’s draws in Setubal, with her best result being a semifinal appearance in the first event.
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Natalia Lanucha was a winner at the Sportable River City Slam in Richmond earlier in June. She and American partner Beth Redford won the doubles, although they only had to win one match in the competition. Thomas Venos reached the singles and doubles finals at the Richmond event but lost both.
Rob Shaw was Canada’s lone representative in the wheelchair competitions at Roland-Garros at the beginning of the month. He went out in the quad singles quarter-finals and quad doubles semifinals.
