Top 10 Most Memorable Canadian Tennis Moments of 2024 – Tennis Canada

The Year-Round Community Tennis Courts Program presented by Rogers will soon reach 37% of its objective of building 160 new indoor courts across 30 facilities by 2029. Additionally, the National Bank Play Your Court program, launched in 2023, has also started revitalizing courts around the country (13 courts in total so far) with the goal being to improve 100 outdoor public courts by 2030.

9.

Tennis Canada prioritizes mental health and wellness by unveiling pioneering Mental Health Strategy.

Partnering with the University of Ottawa, Own the Podium, the Canadian Centre for Mental Health and Sport (CCMHS), and Game Plan to design, implement and evaluate a comprehensive long-term strategy to improve the mental health and wellness of Tennis Canada athletes, coaches, parents, and staff, this program was launched in 2024 and will continue to evolve in the years ahead. 

8.

Canadians enjoy resounding success on home soil, with champions in singles and doubles at seven domestic Challengers.

Kayla Cross claimed three titles, winning the singles event at the Saskatoon Challenger and doubles at the Edmonton and Calgary National Bank Challengers. She also made the singles final at the Tevlin Challenger and Granby National Bank Championships. Marino won the singles title in Calgary, while the doubles pairing of Mia Kupres and Ariana Arsenault won titles in Saskatoon and at the Granby National Bank Championships. Liam Draxl (singles and doubles) and Cleeve Harper (doubles) won titles in Edmonton, and Draxl also enjoyed singles success at Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures. 

7.

New milestones reached for Shapovalov, Diallo, Marino, Stakusic, and Bérubé Perron.

Milestones include:

• Denis Shapovalov claims second-career ATP singles title at the 250-level Belgrade Open  

• Félix Auger-Aliassime reaches a Masters 1000 final at the Madrid Open 

• Gabriel Diallo and Marina Stakusic qualify for first-ever Grand Slam main draws at the US Open and Wimbledon respectively, also reaching career-high rankings  

• Diallo contests his first-career ATP final at the 250-level Almaty Open in Kazakhstan 

• Stakusic wins her first-career title at the WTA 125 Abierto Tampico 

• Rebecca Marino takes home her biggest-career title at the WTA 125 event in Midland, USA and the singles title in Calgary 

• Frédérique Bérubé Perron becomes the first Canadian junior wheelchair tennis player to qualify for a Grand Slam event, reaching the semi-finals of the US Open 

6.

The ITF Global Tennis Report: Canada confirms its place among the world-leading tennis nations with a rise in participation.

Some highlights include:

• Canada is now second globally for the percentage of its population playing tennis at 12.8%. The country saw this percentage grow by 7.1% since the last report, which was published in 2021.  

• The total number of people playing tennis in Canada has risen to nearly 5 million, up from 3.9 million in 2021—an increase of over 1 million participants. Canada is now ranked 6^th globally. 

• Gender equity in participation has surged in Canada, with 46% of tennis players now being women and girls, up from 29.2% in 2021.  

• The number of Canadian competitive junior athletes with world-rankings has also grown, with an additional 16 boys and 12 girls since 2022.  

5.

The National Bank Open presented by Rogers enjoys another tremendous year.

Some of this year’s highlights below:

•     A record-breaking attendance of 150,729 for a WTA event in Toronto   

• The Montreal tournament recorded its second-best attendance ever (226,839 fans), even with session cancellations due to inclement weather. 

• An all-Canadian doubles semi-final (Gabriela Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe vs. Leylah Annie & Bianca Jolie Fernandez) in Toronto 

• Tennis Canada confirms the 2025 NBO schedule as the tournament prepares to be redefined, expanding to a 12-day, 96-player main draw, resembling a Grand Slam format.  

4.

Team Canada reaches Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup Finals.

With victories over Argentina, Finland, and Great Britain, the Canadian Davis Cup team finished first in their group at the Davis Cup Group Stage in Manchester, UK in September, securing a spot in the Final 8 in Malaga in November. Meanwhile, the Canadian Billie Jean King Cup team earned automatic entry to their Finals having won the competition last year. Both teams reached the quarter-finals in Malaga.

3.

Tennis Canada continues to prioritize gender equity, keeping the conversation alive around equal pay and equal opportunity in sport.

This year, several innovative projects were implemented as part of the Game. Set. Equity. commitment in partnership with National Bank. Twenty-one programs received funding via the GSE Community Tennis Grants, bringing the total amount invested in community initiatives via the program to nearly $200,000. 

Also in partnership with National Bank, the UNMATCHED: Gender Equity in Sports Conference hosted 575 attendees, including over 50 “Next Gen” community leaders at no cost, who enjoyed the opportunity to hear from keynote speaker, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams. Gender equity was also front-and-centre during the National Bank Open in Toronto and Montreal, with the umpires’ chairs on centre court in both cities painted purple, the colour of equity. Shortly after the NBO, Tennis Canada ran a mass marketing campaign intended to raise awareness of its GSE program, which accrued over 70 million impressions. 

Finally, the Billie Jean King Cup Champions Tour saw the famous trophy travel across all ten provinces, celebrating the past, present and future of the sport, with GSE activities offered at all stops to provide professional development opportunities for women leaders and inspire the next generation of women athletes.    

2.

Gabriela Dabrowski and partner Erin Routliffe claim the first WTA Finals title in Canadian history.

Dabrowski wrote another chapter in the history of Canadian tennis in 2024, becoming the country’s first player to be crowned champion at the WTA Finals. She and Routliffe defeated Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in straight sets (7-5, 6-3) in the final to claim the title.

1.

Félix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriela Dabrowski secure first Olympic tennis medal for Canada in 24 years, winning Bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in mixed doubles.

Auger-Aliassime also finished fourth in singles, and Rob Shaw reached the quarter-finals in quad singles wheelchair tennis at the 2024 Paralympics.