Thomas Venos was glad to be back on home soil for the WC100 Birmingham Wheelchair Tennis Classic at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto, ON.
The world No. 37 was the highest-ranked Canuck in the men’s singles draw, entering as the lone Canadian seed. Although the week didn’t go the way Venos would have liked, he still embraced the opportunity to play in Canada’s biggest wheelchair tennis event of the year.
“I love playing tournaments in Canada,” Venos said in an interview on Sept. 16. “They are always so fun and well run, so it makes it very easy for a player. Plus, I get to see a lot of my friends that live in different parts of the country.”
The west coast was where everything got started for Venos, though. With wheelchair tennis tournaments being held across the nation for much of the year, perfect timing helped the Anmore, BC-native discover the sport and meet Tennis Canada’s national coach of wheelchair tennis, Kai Schrameyer.
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“I discovered wheelchair tennis while I was still in the rehab hospital. The Vancouver International Tournament was being held at the same time, and I was asked to come watch the tournament. But instead, my mother asked if I could play in it,” Venos said. “So then, I was playing in my first-ever wheelchair tennis tournament while still in rehab recovering from my accident and having never played the sport before. The whole tournament I only won two games. It was at this tournament where I met [Schrameyer]. He saw that I had potential, so he began coaching me later that year.”
Venos has come a very long way since. The 27-year-old attended The University of Alabama on a tennis scholarship and won three USTA collegiate wheelchair tennis championships with the Crimson Tide.
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In Canada, Venos has won titles from coast-to-coast. He hoisted a pair of WC50 trophies over the past few years, winning in Kamloops, BC, this past July and Windsor, ON, last season. The British Columbian is also a six-time defending Birmingham Nationals titlist in singles and was crowned champion in the National Bank Open presented by Rogers’ first-ever wheelchair tennis event last year.
Venos even represented Canada twice at the Parapan Am Games, but the Canuck is still aiming even higher as he looks towards the future.
“For the remainder of the season, I would like to win a couple more World Tennis tournaments as well as Nationals,” Venos said. “Long term, I want to be seeded at the Parapan Am Games as well as qualify for my first ever Paralympics.”
Venos sets his sights on extending his Birmingham Nationals reign to seven titles on the fly. Then, the 27-year-old will hope to don the Maple Leaf on the world stage and bring home a medal.
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The Canadian is currently the ninth highest-ranked player from The Americas, with the Parapan Am Games in Lima, Peru just about a year away. A gold medal would grant Venos automatic qualification into the 2028 Paralympic Games as he looks to be the first player in men’s singles to represent Canada at the event since Philippe Bedard at the 2016 Games.
Feature Photo: Geoff Robins
