Photo : International Associate Clubs
In April on the ITF Masters Tour, Robert Oleksiuk and Gilbert A. White led the way for the Canadians by both scoring multiple titles across the ocean.
Meanwhile back home, the host nation defended its territory well at an ITF event on the west coast.
Let’s catch up with the Canadian tennis players competing on the ITF Masters Tour.
ITF Vancouver
The ITF Masters Tour passed through Canada for the second time in 2024, stopping by Vancouver for the 45th annual VLTBC Masters Indoor Tennis Championships. The host nation was well represented, getting at least one hand on 35 of the 38 winners trophies handed out at the MT700 event.
Eight Canadians won both the singles and doubles titles in their respective age groups, as did Chandril Sood of India in the men’s 30+.
Two Canadians, Leslie Van Santen (age 60) and Manuel Calvo (age 48) managed to win doubles titles in two different ages groups. Van Santen won the women’s doubles in both the 55+ and 60+ divisions, while Calvo took home the men’s doubles in the 40+ and 45+ draws.
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All but two of the 20 singles titles were won by Canadians. Three Canadians won doubles titles with foreign partners, with two all-foreign pairs winning doubles crowns.
Here is the full list of winners (all Canadian unless otherwise noted):
| Men’s Singles | Women’s Singles | Men’s Doubles | Women’s Doubles | |
| 30+ | Chandril Sood (IND) | Khristina Blajkevitch | Chandril Sood (IND)/ Lakshit Sood (IND) | Renata Reid/ Shiera Stuart |
| 35+ | Carson Bell | Yan Pang (CHN) | Steve Tseng/ Oliver O’Shea (GBR) | Jenny Hong (CHN)/ Yujing Yang (CHN) |
| 40+ | Henry Choi | Kristi Tremble | Manuel Calvo/ Henry Choi | Kristi Tremble/ Jennifer Tse |
| 45+ | Hayssam Hamdy Gaber | Elena Audy | Manuel Calvo/ Michael Hopkinson | Kateryna Filyus/ Bronwyn Muirhead (AUS) |
| 50+ | Julien Heine | Jennifer Cherneski | Keith Leech/ Stefano Walker | Jennifer Cherneski/ Andrea Stevens |
| 55+ | Hannes Blum | Roswitha Schaich | Hannes Blum/ Chris Smith | Carol Lau/ Leslie Van Santen |
| 60+ | Glenn Richards | Wendy Banham | David DeFehr/ Glenn Richards | Anna McAlpine/ Leslie Van Santen |
| 65+ | David Fairbotham | Cora Wills | David Fairbotham/ Robert Foy | Brenda Cameron/ Cora Wills |
| 70+ | Steven Yesowick | Janice Holloway | John Harvey/ Steven Yesowick | No Event |
| 75+ | Kenneth Dahl | No Event | Pat Dowling (IRL)/ Neil Elliot | No Event |
| 85+ | Horst Dammholz | No Event | No Event | No Event |
There are no ITF Masters events in Canada in May.
ITF Tour Wins for Oleksiuk and White
Robert Oleksiuk was the lone Canadian to win both a singles and doubles title abroad in the month of April on the ITF Tour.
At the first of the back-to-back MT400 events in Barcelona, Oleksiuk reached the 45+ singles final but lost Sergio Sesa Priego of Spain in straight sets.
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A week later, the Canadian doubled up, winning both the singles and doubles titles. In the singles, he did not drop a set and beat top seed Jose Rodrigo Vega for his second ITF singles title.
In the doubles, Oleksiuk and his Italian partner Paolo Conti had an easy road to the title, getting a bye and then a walkover to reach the final without having to hit a ball. They then dropped just five games in the title match. It is the sixth ITF doubles title for Oleksiuk.
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Gilbert A. White was also a multi-titlist in April, bringing home a pair ITF doubles titles on the Masters Tour.
He started out the month by winning the doubles title at the MT400 in Sorgun, Turkey alongside his Romanian partner Gelu Gheti. White and Gheti were the top seeds in the 65+ men’s doubles draw and dropped just seven games on their way to the title.
The following week, White teamed up with countryman Marc Pepin to win the 65+ doubles title in Manavgat, Turkey, edging an all-Polish team 10-8 in the match tiebreak in the final to bring his total titles in 2024 to four.
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Here is a list of Canadians who reached finals on the ITF Tour (excluding Vancouver) in April (Titles in bold):
- Robert Oleksiuk: MT400 Barcelona (2) men’s singles champion, MT400 Barcelona (2) 45+ men’s doubles champion, MT400 (1) Barcelona 45+ men’s singles runner-up,
- Gilbert A White: MT400 65+ Sorgun men’s doubles champion, MT1000 Manavgat 65+ men’s doubles champion (w/ Pepin)
- Marc Pepin: MT1000 Manavgat 65+ men’s doubles champion (w/ White)
- Gerald Girdler: MT400 Valencia 65+ men’s doubles runner-up, MT200 Valencia 60+ men’s doubles runner-up
