Canada hosted its first ITF wheelchair event of the year earlier in April, the Premier Racquet Club Wheelchair Classic in Markham, ON. While the host nation was shut out of the winner’s circle, there were plenty of strong performances by the Canadians.
Thomas Venos had the best showing amongst the home favourites, reaching both the men’s singles and doubles finals. American Conner Stroud was the bane of his existence, though, beating him in both title matches.
In singles, Venos reached the final without dropping a set and came within one of winning the title when he took the opening set of the final with Stroud before the American rallied and won in three. Venos, who won a career-high eight doubles titles in 2024, partnered with countryman Barry Henderson to reach the doubles final but lost in straight sets to the American team of Stroud and Charlie Cooper.
On the women’s side, the closest a Canadian came to lifting the trophy was in women’s doubles, where the round-robin event came down to the final match between Canadians Frederique Berube Perron and Annie-Marie Dolinar and the German-American team of Katharina Kruger and Elizabeth Williams. Kruger and Williams won in straight sets to finish atop the group and lift the trophy.
Kruger also won the women’s singles title without losing a single game.
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Markham was Berube Perron’s second event of 2025, having gotten her season underway earlier in April. The 18-year-old was Canada’s breakout star on the wheelchair tour in 2024. Kruger has been a problem for the young Canadian so far this year, knocking her out of the singles main draws of both events the teen has played this year, including in the Markham semis.
At her first event of the year, Berube Perron finished second in the singles consolation draw at an event in Houston, beating American Clara Kesler but losing to Sabina Czauz after being knocked out of the main draw in her first match of the year against Kruger.
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The next ITF Wheelchair event in Canada will be in July in Kamloops, BC.
Quad world No. 8 Rob Shaw will be answering questions from fans in the April mailbag! If you have a question for Rob, please comment on our social media posts on X and Facebook by April 28.
