Monday Digest: Canadians Clean Up on ITF Tour

Photo : ITF Darmstadt

If you are not watching the Canadians on the ITF Tour this summer, you are missing out.

July has been a good month for the Canadians on the ITF circuit but last week was something special with four titles, including a victory at one of Canada’s largest domestic events.

Here’s what you need to know.

Under the Radar: Victories at Home and Abroad

To put it mildly, it was a good week for Canadians on the ITF tour.

Rob Shaw has been on fire of late and last week laid claim to two more trophies at the ITF 1 series Swiss Open wheelchair event.

Only a week ago did Shaw win his first quad singles title of the year and now he has two after another win over Chile’s Francisco Cayulef in the final. It is the first ITF 1 Series title for Shaw, making it the biggest singles title of his career.

“It’s been almost 10 years, but I have finally won an ITF1 Tournament. I cannot thank my support team enough for keeping me game-ready for the past two weeks,” said Shaw after his victory in Geneva. “I was very familiar with my opponent today as we played each other last week in the finals. This week I thought more than any other match; I finally played closer to my potential. There were moments where I got too pushy, but I corrected things in the third set and kept my foot on the gas. It’s been an incredible run in Switzerland and a tournament I will never forget.”

Overall, Shaw now has 24 ITF singles titles to his name.

He also won the doubles with David Wagner. The top-seeded pair only needed to win one match to claim the title, receiving a first-round bye and walkover in the final. It is the fifth doubles title of the year for Shaw, his highest single-season total since 2019.

Shaw last won the singles and doubles at the same event in 2022 at the Seoul Open. He has seven total titles in 2024 across both disciplines.

Rising star Victoria Mboko found herself back in the winner’s circle for the first time in 2024, claiming the W35 title in Darmstadt, Germany.

Mboko was unseeded and rallied from a set down in both the quarter and semifinals, winning the deciding sets in dominant fashion in both (6-1 in the quarters, 6-0 in the semis) before defeating Angela Fita Boluda in straight sets in the final.

It is the third ITF singles title of the 17-year-old’s career, first on clay and first on foreign soil. Specifically, it is her first title outside of Saskatoon, where she won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023.

Rounding out Canada’s great week on the ITF Tour was a victory on home soil in Granby, Quebec. Ariana Arseneault and Mia Kupres won the women’s doubles title, defeating top seeds En Shuo Liang and Sohyun Park 10-6 in the match tiebreak.

For both women, it was their first ITF doubles title since 2022 and first as a team. It was Arseneault’s third overall and second for Kupres.

Kayla Cross reached the women’s singles final and the tandem of Justin Boulais and Joshua Lapadat got to the ATP Challenger men’s doubles final, but all were beaten.

Click here to read the full recap of the Granby tournament.

In Case You Missed It: Auger-Aliassime Returns to Clay

With one eye on the upcoming Olympics, which will be played on clay at Roland-Garros, Félix Auger-Aliassime was back on the dirt last week in Gstaad to get a few reps in.

He reached his first quarter-final since getting to the Madrid final in May, defeating Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets before falling in the quarters in two tiebreaks to the eventual champion Matteo Berrettini.

Gabriel Diallo was the last Canadian to wrap up their grass season last week, competing at the ATP 250 event in Newport. He lost in two tight sets to British qualifier Billy Harris in round one.

What to Watch: Paris 2024 is Here

While there are regular tournaments on the ATP and WTA Tours this week, most fans will have their eyes on the weekend when the tennis event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris gets underway.

The first round of the singles and doubles will take place on Saturday and Sunday. Canada will have participants in each of those competitions. Bianca Andreescu, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Gabriela Dabrowski, Leylah Annie Fernandez, and Milos Raonic will be representing Canada at the Olympics.

Click here for more information on the tennis event in Paris. The draws will be revealed later in the week.

Meanwhile on the ATP Tour, Denis Shapovalov is competing at the ATP 250 event in Atlanta. He will open his campaign against David Goffin, could face No. 8 seed Max Purcell in the second round, and is in the top quarter with No. 1 seed Ben Shelton.

You can follow the Canadians in action every week here. 

Written By

Pete Borkowski