The 2023 Birmingham Nationwide Wheelchair Tennis Championships is underway, as one of the best wheelchair tennis gamers in Canada face off for an opportunity at taking house the nationwide titles. The event is the largest nationwide wheelchair tennis occasion in Canada and will probably be performed out of the Sobeys Atlantic Tennis Centre in Bedford, Nova Scotia, from October 12 to fifteen. The provinces which are represented for this 12 months’s occasion are British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia.
Main the way in which within the males’s singles class is Thomas Venos of British Columbia. Venos, ranked 77th on the planet rankings, enters the event because the three-time defending champion, and can look to increase his streak in opposition to a powerful participant subject. Additionally seeded within the 16-player draw are Barry Henderson (BC), Shawn Douglas Corchesne (ON), and Jean-Paul Melo (QC).
Within the girls’s singles occasion, Ontario’s Anne-Marie Dolinar has the top-seed honours. After ending in second place in 2021, Dolinar managed to go one additional final 12 months, claiming the nationwide title. Her opponent in each of these finals was Natalia Lanucha of Quebec, who enters this 12 months’s event because the No. 2 seed. Dolinar is at the moment 58th on the planet rankings, whereas Lanucha is a number of spots forward of her at No. 54.
British Columbia’s Mitch McIntyre, No. 28 on the planet in quads, is atop the quad singles division. His prime competitors heading into the week is second-seeded Gary Luker of Ontario, who’s at the moment ranked No. 86 within the ITF rankings. Luker’s former doubles associate, Rob Shaw, is not going to be in Bedford this 12 months, opening the door for a brand new nationwide champion. Shaw received the earlier six quad singles titles.
Highlighting the doubles attracts are the duos of Venos and Henderson (males’s), Dolinar and Lanucha (girls’s), and McIntyre and Luker (quads). For the second straight 12 months, there may also be a junior’s draw on the Birmingham Nationals. The three next-gen wheelchair athletes making up the division are British Columbia’s John Chen, Samuel Peters, and Lachlan Sandford.
Along with the good gamers participating on this 12 months’s occasion, the Birmingham Nationals is happy to announce the inception of the Birmingham Legacy Award. Named after wheelchair tennis philanthropist Betty Birmingham and her household, the award represents the very best honour throughout the sport of wheelchair tennis in Canada. It is going to be given out yearly to a person or group for his or her excellent contributions to the sport.
Click on here to see the complete record of gamers scheduled to participate within the 2023 Birmingham Nationals.
