Shawn Courchesne

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST TENNIS/WHEELCHAIR TENNIS MEMORY? My first wheelchair tennis memory was my first ever match. I ended up drawing a very highly ranked Australian player at the Birmingham Wheelchair Tennis Classic. At the time this tournament was an ITF1. I think the longest thing about this match was me getting into my chair and the warm up. HOW, WHERE, AND WHEN DID YOU START PLAYING? My first taste of wheelchair tennis was when I got asked to be the maintenance guy for two tournaments. I was so happy to be getting paid to fix wheelchairs. After the first tournament I was truly amazed by the technique and agility of some of the top ranked players and thought to myself I can do this. So, I reached out to ONPARA and they got me set up with some court time and some coaching. After that I signed myself up for a local tournament (ITF1) and got demolished, but also got hooked to the sport. WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO CHOOSE TENNIS? It’s a no brainer, you get to train and play outside in the sun and you get to travel to beautiful places all around the world. Also if you get good enough you can roll away with some money! YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION AND WHY? My biggest inspiration would have to be my old basketball coach Kathy Ludwig, she was the first person to ever fit me in a sports chair and to make sure I had a good set up in equipment. It would of taking me a long time to realize that equipment can make such a big difference in performance. Kathy was always willing to push me to my limits when training and competing. She saw what I was capable of doing even when I didn’t. She impacted my life in such positive ways. She is also the only person that I wanted standing next to me on my wedding day. FAVOURITE SPORT OTHER THAN TENNIS? Favorite sport other than wheelchair tennis would have to be wheelchair basketball. It was the first sport I tried after my accident and I played basketball for four years before I starting playing tennis. Basketball is still a huge part of my life as I run a wheelchair basketball school program. FAMILY, WHAT DO THEY DO AND HOW HAVE THEY IMPACTED YOUR TENNIS CAREER? My family is my biggest supporter! From understand when I can’t make it to birthdays or special events due to being at tournaments, to travelling with me to tournaments they are always there when I need them. FAVOURITE SPORTS TEAM? TORONTO BLUE JAYS FAVOURITE ATHLETE? Anne-Marie Dolinar FAVOURITE TV SHOW? Yellow Stone FAVOURITE FOOD? Tacos WHICH ACTOR/ACTRESS WOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE? Leonardo DiCaprio SUPER POWER YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE? The ability to fly WHAT’S ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU? I am a great cook! DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 3 WORDS? Generous, Kind, Funny IF YOU WEREN’T PLAYING TENNIS, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING? I would be spending more time with my wife and daughter. OTHER THAN TENNIS, WHAT ARE YOU MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT? I am super passionate about my career as I’m able to promote wheelchair sports, accessibility and inclusion to others.