There’s no place like home for Shawn Courchesne.
The Canadian quad wheelchair tennis player swept away the fields at the April ITF Wheelchair events in Southern Ontario, claiming his third title of the year at the WC50 Windsor Classic at the end of last month. The victory followed a win a week prior in Markham, ON.
Here is the monthly wheelchair tennis update.
Canada was guaranteed a winner in the quad division in Windsor, with all four competitors hailing from the host nation. Courchesne dominated the field, winning all three of his matches in the round-robin event with the loss of just six total games, never losing more than three in a match.
It was a successful title defence for the 33-year-old from Brampton, ON, who also won the quad singles when the event was played in July last summer.
“Happy to get a win today and to win the Windsor tournament for a second time in a row, I played some great tennis today and I'm very satisfied with my overall game and the quality of my tennis,” said Courchesne after his third and final win of the event, a double-bagel over Hisham Mohammad.
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Thomas Venos had another frustrating event, reaching both the men’s singles and doubles finals but losing both. He was beaten by American Charlie Cooper in both finals, dropping the doubles alongside another American, Conner Stroud, to Cooper and Francesco Felici of Italy.
Venos was the defending champion in both draws. He also lost to Cooper in the Markham final earlier in the month.
Anne-Marie Dolinar finished as the runner-up in the women’s division. The four-player draw came down to the final round robin match between the Deep River, ON-native and American Elizabeth Williams, with Williams fighting back for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-0 win to finish atop the group and claim the title.
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“Tough loss today. I was really happy with my level for the first half of the match and was disciplined mentally, fighting for every point, but unfortunately, couldn’t keep up that level,” said Dolinar post-match. “Congratulations to Elizabeth and thanks to Jennifer and everyone at Parkside Tennis Club for a great tournament.”
There is a break now before the next ITF Wheelchair event in Canada. The tour will return to the Great White North in July with events in Kamloops, BC, and Quebec City.
Feature Photo: Geoff Robins
