Photo: Alexis Shareck
The finals of the 2022 Birmingham National Wheelchair Tennis Championships were held on Sunday at IGA Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, as winners were crowned in the men’s, women’s, and junior categories. Thomas Venos of British Columbia and Ontario native Anne-Marie Dolinar swept the podium, winning both the singles and doubles titles in their respective divisions. Venos has now pulled off the natural hat trick, capturing the two titles at the event for the third time in a row.
In the men’s singles final, 23-year-old Venos defeated fellow British Columbian Barry Henderson in a nail-biter by a score of 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Venos only dropped the one set all week and posted a bagel in all of his matches heading into the championship contest. Venos and Henderson were also paired up in doubles and won the doubles title against all-Ontario duo Shawn Courchesne and Marko Golic without losing a single game.
On the women’s side, in a rematch of last year’s final, Dolinar faced off against Quebec’s Natalia Lanucha for the singles trophy. The Ontario native managed to get her revenge over Lanucha, winning the three-set battle by a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Lanucha did not go home empty-handed, as she teamed up with Dolinar to claim the doubles crown. The duo won both of their matches in straight sets and only yielded three games to their opponents.
In addition to the men’s and women’s singles and doubles draws, the 2022 Birmingham Nationals had its first-ever junior division. John Chen, the talented youngster from British Columbia, won all three of his matches to take home the gold. Chen also played in the men’s singles division, winning two of his four matches. The runner-up in the junior draw was Quebecer Frédérique Bérubé-Perron.
Click here to see all the results of the 2022 Birmingham Nationals.
