Photo : Martin Sidorjak
The second Grand Slam event of the season has officially arrived and the Canadians are looking to make their mark at the French Open.
While the wheelchair event at Roland-Garros doesn’t get underway until next week, there is plenty of hope for some good results after yet another big week by Canada’s quad athletes.
Here’s what you need to know.
In Case You Missed It: Diallo Qualifies for First Major
Gabriel Diallo took the next step in his burgeoning career last week in Paris, winning a trio of three-setters to book his place in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
He defeated Genaro Alberto Olivieri, Marco Trungelliti, and Alexander Ritschard to qualify for the main draw in Roland-Garros, which is also his first ATP Tour main draw on clay.
Marina Stakusic came close to reaching her first Grand Slam main draw as well but lost in the final round of qualifying to Yuliia Starodubtseva.
Read also: ATP Power Rankings Ahead of Roland-Garros
Rebecca Marino lost in round two of qualifying, while Carol Zhao and Alexis Galarneau were beaten in the first round.
On the main tours, both Leylah Annie Fernandez and Denis Shapovalov played warm-up events looking to build momentum heading into Roland-Garros, but both lost their second-round singles matches in three sets in Strasbourg and Geneva respectively.
Fernandez did reach the semifinals of the doubles with Erin Routliffe, but lost 11-9 in the match tiebreak to Asia Muhammad and Aldila Sutjiadi.
What to Watch: Andreescu’s Return Highlights Canadian French Open Draws
Five Canadians were in the singles main draws as the second Grand Slam event of the season, although by Monday that number had dwindled to four.
Read also: WTA Power Rankings Ahead of Roland-Garros
Bianca Andreescu is making her return to the tour this week in Paris, having not played since the National Bank Open in August. She was victorious in her return, beating Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets.
She is joined on the women’s side by Leylah Annie Fernandez, who is seeded 31st. Fernandez got off to a winning start on Monday, racing past Jessika Ponchet with the loss of just two games.
On the men’s side, Félix Auger-Aliassime was the first Canadian to get a win at the 2024 French Open, cruising past Yoshihito Nishioka in his opening match on Monday morning. Denis Shapovalov also plays his opener on Monday.
After coming through qualifying, Gabriel Diallo made his Grand Slam debut on Sunday against former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori, but a thrilling comeback came up just short and he was ousted in five sets.
Shapovalov and Fernandez are both playing doubles.
Click here to read the full Canadian draw preview.
Under the Radar: Shaw and McIntyre Make It Three
It was a big week for the Canadians on the ITF Wheelchair Tour, especially in the quads as both Rob Shaw and Mitch McIntyre claimed their third doubles title of the season.
Shaw was playing his first event since winning the biggest title of his career last month at the Japan Open. This week in Barcelona, he and partner Heath Davidson beat Ahmet Kaplan and Niels Vink to claim the title.
Heading into Roland-Garros, where he reached the final last year, Shaw has a chance to match his total of four titles in a season from each of the previous two years.
Also completing his 2024 trifecta last week was Mitch McIntyre, who won the quad doubles at an event in Padova, Italy. All three of McIntyre’s titles this year have come with different partners.
Last week, he and Finn Broadbent upset the second seeds 13-11 in the match tiebreak in round one and went on to win their remaining matches all in straight sets, including the final where they beat the top seeds Shota Kawano and Kei Usami
Thomas Venos nearly made it three titles for the Canadian wheelchair athletes, reaching the men’s doubles final in Padova but he and Ezequiel Casco lost to top seeds Robin Groenewoud and Maarten Ter Hofte.
Read also: Venos Strikes Twice in April
There were a few Canadian winners on the ITF Junior Tour last week. Jasmine Li won the girls singles title at the J30 in Tabasco, Mexico, while Lola Emilie Bean and Alexie Normandin squeaked out a doubles win at the J60 in Santa Tecla, El Salvador.
Victoria Mboko reached her first semifinal of 2024 last week on the ITF Women’s Tour, getting to the final four of the W50 event in Otocec, Slovakia before falling the eventual champion Anouk Koevermans.
This week on the ATP Challenger, a quartet of Canadian men led by Alexis Galarneau are competing at an event in Little Rock, Arkansas.
You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.
