Champions crowned at the 2021 Birmingham Nationals

The 2021 Birmingham National Wheelchair Tennis Championships concluded on Sunday at the IGA Stadium in Montreal as winners were crowned in the men’s, women’s, and quad categories. Thomas Venos of British Columbia and Natalia Lanucha of Quebec stole the show as they captured both the singles and doubles titles in their respective divisions.

In the men’s singles finals, 22-year-old Venos defeated fellow British Columbian Barry Henderson 7-6(2), 6-4 to clinch his second consecutive singles title at the event. The tournament’s top seed didn’t lose a set throughout the tournament and only dropped five games in the five matches prior to the finals. Later in the day, Venos and Henderson – the 2019 doubles champions – partnered up and defended their title with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over all-Ontario duo Shawn Courchesne and Marko Golic.

On the women’s side, Lanucha faced off against Ontario native Anne-Marie Dolinar in the final round-robin match of the women’s draw. Lanucha and Dolinar were undefeated heading into today’s contest, meaning that the winner would take home the women’s singles trophy. In the match, Lanucha got off to a red-hot start and defeated Dolinar by a score of 6-3, 6-1 to claim the title. Lanucha also won the women’s doubles title on Saturday alongside partner Kirsten Sharp of British Colombia.

Saturday, Ontario’s Rob Shaw clinched the quad singles division for a sixth consecutive time at the Birmingham Nationals. The Canadian Paralympian won his matches by a score of 6-0, 6-3, and 6-1, 6-1.

Click here to see all the results.