SENIOR TENNIS PLAYERS - HAVE RACQUET WILL TRAVEL

ONTARIO SENIOR TENNIS PLAYERS - HAVE RACQUET WILL TRAVEL

ITF Young Seniors

Several Ontario players were in Umag, Croatia recently competing in the ITF Young Seniors World Team Championships.

The Young Cup (over 40) team of Ontarians Jennifer Bishop, Maureen Drake and Paula Myslivecek, who grew up in Ontario but now lives in Florida, are seen here (right to left).  They beat the USA team on the final day of competition to take 5th spot overall.

Other Ontario players who played in Croatia were

Lucie Lean (Margaret Court Cup over 45), Leigh Bradwell, Liane Marr (Suzanne Lenglen Cup over 35)

Dave Rowat (Italia Cup over 35)   Ben Woo (Tony Trabert Cup over 40)

Mont Tremblant, ITF

Mont Tremblant, Quebec was the delightful site for the Senior ITF Tournament played June 

Several Ontario players achieved significant results at this event.

In the over 45 Mens Singles Nels Stanfield was the Finalist with Dan Deangelis and Ivan Balic reaching the semi finals. Dan and Ivan played in the doubles together again reaching the semi-finals.  In the Over 50s, Imran Syed was a semi-finalist in singles, won the mixed doubles (with Karen Clarke), and was a finalist in the men's doubles (with Donald Bruce Acland). In the mens Over 60 Singles Steve Fricker was a semi-finalist. Adrian Grice placed 2 in the over 80 men's singles and was also a semi-finalist in th over 70 mixed with Ruth Grice.

In the Over 50 women's singles Cindy O'Doherty and Sandy Mackie were semi-finalist; Cindy was a finalist in the mixed doubles (with Jeff Henkelman).  Patricia Babcock was the finalist in the Over 60 singles. In the Over 65 events Maria Dinga was the singles finalist, and a double doubles champion with Violetta Nesukaitis in womens and Lucien Demarais of Quebec in mixed. Anne Rungi was the sole Ontarian to take a singles title. She won the Over 70 singles and was a finalist in both the ladies and the mixed doubles (with Louise Langston and Claude Savaria). Anne Rungi and Louise are pictured below.

OFSAA TENNIS FINALS

OFSAA TENNIS FINALS

The Ontario Federation of Secondary Schools Athletic Association held their finals on May 30th, 31st and June 1st at the University of Toronto Scarborough Tennis Centre and Mayfair Racquet Club East.

Competition is held at two levels. The Open level is for players who compete in tennis competition on a regular basis outside of the school program and have a high OTA ranking.  The High School Level is for players who play at a recreational level.

Rogers TV recorded the High School Boys Singles, High School Girls Singles, Open Boys Singles, and Open Girls Singles Finals.  These matches were televised on Sunday June 5th between 2 and 5 pm in Toronto.  

 Pictured here L to R are Spencer Robertson, Cindy Phair (Coach) and Michael Orrett who took the 4th place in High School Boys Doubles. Thanks to Todd Orrett for the photo. Other photos of the event can be found on the OFSAA Facebook page.

The winning players and teams were:-

High School Boys Singles

 GOLD:  Carr Norton (CISAA) - Upper Canada College, SILVER:  Georg Zoidl (YRAA) - St. Maximillian Kolbe, BRONZE:  Keenan Conlon (CISAA)- Upper Canada College, ANTIQUE BRONZE: Bryn Hafer (ROPSSAA) - Lorne Park S.S.

 High School Girls Singles

 GOLD:  Paige Baynham (WOSSA) - H.B. Beal SS, SILVER:  Megan Gilkes (CISAA) - Holy Trinity School, BRONZE: Mara Stroe (LOSSA) - J. Clarke Richardson Collegiate, ANTIQUE BRONZE: Briahn Guthrie (GBSSA) - Eastview S.S.

High School Boys Doubles

GOLD:  Matt Gibson/Victor Guziak (WOSSA) - London Central,SILVER:  John Fischer/Luke Fischer (WOSSA) - Stratford Central,BRONZE:  Jordan Welter/Sam Finkelstein (TDSSAA) - Lawrence Park,ANTIQUE BRONZE:  Spencer Robertson/Michael Orrett (LOSSA) - Henry Street High School.

High School  Girls Doubles                                                                                                                    GOLD:  Victoria Tseng Paepcke/ Rachel Navarro (ROPSSAA) - Lorne Park S.S., SILVER:  Zante Botha/Charee Botha (WOSSA) - Mother Teresa CSS, BRONZE:  Catherine Rastin/Clara Rastin (SWOSSAA) - St. Patrick's, ANTIQUE BRONZE:   Sasha Malesevic/Ivana Milisic (CWOSSA) - Cameron Heights CI.

High School Mixed Doubles

 GOLD:  Meg Killeen/ Lachlan Carmichael (TDSSAA) -Lawrence Park, SILVER: Madeleine Swenor/Bryn de Chastelain (GHAC) - Georgetown District HS, BRONZE: Alyssia Watkin/John Karakas (CISAA) - Appleby College, ANTIQUE BRONZE: Yigit Gedikli/Rachel Mendelson (TDSSAA) - Forest Hill.

 Open Boys Singles

 GOLD:  Jakob Nielsen (CISAA) - Appleby College, SILVER: Peter Coombs  (GHAC) - Oakville Trafalgar HS, BRONZE:  Nathan Wong (GHAC) - White Oaks Secondary School, ANTIQUE BRONZE: Eric Chernly (TDCAA) - Michael Power.

 Open Girls Singles

 GOLD:  Rebecca Herrington (GBSSA) - Banting Memorial H.S., SILVER:  Mya Bui (LOSSA) - Pickering High School, BRONZE:  Victoria DiMuzio  (CWOSSA) - Bishop MacDonell H.S., ANTIQUE BRONZE: Ksenia Providokhina (YRAA) - Bill Crothers S.S.

 Open Boys Doubles

 GOLD:  Roy Stepanov/ Malik Bhatnagar (GHAC) - Robert Bateman, SILVER: DJ Fenerty/ Shane Bulitka (WOSSA) - St. Andre Bessette, BRONZE: Brooks Coffey/ Alp Tezol (TDSSAA) - North Toronto, ANTIQUE BRONZE: Spencer Grant/ Mark Jensen (GHAC) - Oakville Trafalgar High School.

 Open Girls Doubles

 GOLD:   Alexandra Mikhailuk/ Angela Chen (GHAC) - Nelson High School, SILVER:  Stephanie Afloroaei/ Alicia Opatowski (LOSSA) - Dunbarton High School, BRONZE:  Sofia Miller/ Rita Kanaeva (TDSSAA) - Malvern, ANTIQUE BRONZE:  Nina Zhang/ Lily Zhang (SWOSSAA) -Vincent Massey.

 Open Mixed Doubles

GOLD:  Rita Colyer/ Luke Smrek  (GHAC) - Robert Bateman, SILVER:  Marko Kazar/ Elizabeth Rozin (TDSSAA) - Lawrence Park, BRONZE:  Mia Tamindzija/ Ryan MacLean (CWOSSA) - Resurrection C.S.S., ANTIQUE BRONZE:  Gabrielle Oancea/ Andrew Codita (LOSSA) - Dunbarton High School.

NATIONAL SELECTION PROCESS

NATIONAL SELECTION TOURNAMENTS

The 2016 National Selection Process involves National Selection Tournaments as well as the Provincial Championships. Each player can accumulate selection points through these tournaments. There are 2 indoor and 2 outdoor designated national selection events (4 star) offered for each category at a 4 star value. At National Selection events the top 16 players will receive direct entry with another 16 spots being available for qualifiers. Players will receive ranking points for qualifying/feed up events and consolation. Consistent with the rest of the country, these national selection events are rated at 60% of the Provincial Championships.

Several national selection events were held early in June. Because of inclement weather on Sunday June 5th some of these events have yet to be completed.

U12 Boys and Girls at Credit Valley Tennis Club, June 3-5

Girls Singles Winner: Sarah Liu, Finalist: Iulia Cristina Bucea, Semi-finalists: Maria Popova, Dharani Niroshan.

Girls Doubles Winners: Arina Artemyeva & Sarah Liu, Finalists: Dharani Niroshan & Amelie Gal   (see photo L to R, courtesy Kevin Liu)

Boys Singles Winner: Stefan Simeunovic (Oakville), Finalist: Adrian Smith, Semi-finalists: Owen Dunn, Alexander Matros.

BD Semis and Final to be completed June 26^th.

U16 Girls at Palgrave Tennis Club, June 3-5

Girls Singles Winner: Viktoriya Tabunshchyk, Finalist: Daniela Voloh, Semi-finalists: Rita Colyer Kailen Galazka.

Girls Doubles Winners: Corina Spasojevic & Viktoriya Tabunshchyk, Finaists: Kailen Glazka & Oleksandra Gorchanyuk

U16 Boys at University of Toronto Scarborough Tennis Centre, June 3-5

Singles Finalists: Liam Draxl,  Ryan Navarro, Semi-finalists: Ethan Meanchos Daniel Fainblum

U14 Girls at Mississauga Golf and Country Club, June 10-12

Girls Singles Winner: Corina Spasojevic, Finalist: Rachel Krzyzak, Semi-finalists: Kristen Borland, Rachel Hanford

Girls Doubles Winners: Alexia Di Giulio & Rachel Krzyzak, Finalists: Julia Kuszynski & Shirley Liang

U14 Boys at Rosedale Tennis Club, Hamilton, June 10-12

Singles Winner: Ilya Tirapolsky, Finalist: Joshua Lapadat, Semi-finalists: Marko Stakusic, Alvin Nicholas Tudorica

Doubles Winners: Joshua Lapadat & Alvin Nicholas Tudorica, Finalists: Erik Eliot Kovacs & Kevin Bence Kovacs

If you are interested in seeing the future of Canadian Tennis - come and watch the Ontario Junior Closed Provincials.  From June 27^th to July 2^nd the U12s and U16s will be playing at Kew Gardens Tennis Club and University of Toronto Scarborough Tennis Centre. While from July 4 to 9 the U18s and U14s will be playing at University of Toronto Scarborough, Pine Point TC and Veneto TC.

INTERNATIONAL CLUB GOES TO NEW YORK

INTERNATIONAL CLUB GOES TO NEW YORK

When the International Lawn Tennis Club of Canada team travels to New York, bringing home the hardware isn't at the top of their agenda, instead it is to get to play on the beautiful grass courts at Piping Rock Country Club.  Of course Piping Rock has clay courts in case the grass is unplayable, and given that the Friday afternoon brought light drizzle, these courts were the only ones available for practice. Saturday however brought a picture perfect day for playing matches on the grass and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. Sunday the rain set in and the morning matches were played at the huge Port Washington indoor facility.  Any weather problems were made up for with the wonderful hospitality.

This was the first time in several years that an open men's team traveled to New York and the women's team was the largest and the youngest average age Canada has fielded in New York, thanks to some young new members.  Pictured here Back row L to R Dale Kozicz (Captain), Sue Smylie, Janice Hebert, Julie Salomon, Laura Randmaa Atkinson, Jane Seed. Front Row: Kanta Murali, Susanna Sekely, Kathy Mueller and guest/local resident Junko Matsushita.

There were lots of close matches. Of particular note Kanta Murali had a tough three set singles with a 29 year old who had played for Harvard. When the final tally was made, the US retained the Gengler Cup by ten matches to five.

The senior men's team are pictured in their club house clothes. L to R. John Payne, Tim Griffin, Owen Pellew, Bob Awrey, Terry Redvers, Dennis Ing, Raj Nagendra, Ivan Petrov and Rosti Brankovsky (Captain).   The USA team retained the Baker Bowl, also by a score of 10 matches to 5. Unfortunately Canada was 0 for 4 in super tiebreakers otherwise the result might have been different.

The Canadian Open Men's team took a 5-4 lead  after Saturdays matches, but failed to take any of the Sunday matches, giving the USA another 10-5 win to take the Sorlein Cup. Could it have been too much sun on the Saturday or too much hospitality on Saturday night that caused their collapse? The Open team members were Jamie Weatherall, Robert Janacek, Jeremy Langer, Eric Vehovec, Fil Marinkovic, Keenan O'Young, Adam Taylor and captain, Michael Stauble. 

Always a great weekend! The Canadian IC are looking forward to hosting a full USIC team in Toronto next June.  

MILOS AND MCENROE

MILOS and McENROE

In the short grass season leading up to Wimbledon there has been a lot of interest in the decision made by Milos Raonic to add John McEnroe to his team as a coach on the grass.

Milos's singles career has already broken so many records for a Canadian player, but there is one milestone or accomplishment that would outstrip them all - to win a Grand Slam Singles Championship.  Now when you look at which Grand Slam is best suited to Milos's strengths you have to think it is Wimbledon, where there have been several champions who have relied on their height and their big serve as the main weapons in their arsenal.  

Everybody loves Milos for his preppy good looks, his modesty, his all round nice guy demeanour.  John McEnroe on the other hand is almost the antithesis of Milos. He gained a reputation for being a mouthy brat and, if he hadn't been such a talented and intuitive player, he would probably have been forgotten. But the big question is can John McEnroe infuse Milos with the spark, the creativity, the intuition and the magic he needs to reach that next level and win Wimbledon?

The tenniscanada.com web site  is doing a great job of following this exciting story. Milos has passed the first hurdle, he beat his recent nemesis, Kyrgios, in the first round of the Queens Club tournament. We thought you'd like to follow our local hero as he tries to make history on those green and pleasant courts. 

Check out these videos taken at Queens Club of Milos' practice and highlights of his match
with Kyrgios.

ONTARIO TENNIS A.G.M.

The Annual General Meeting of the Ontario Tennis Association was held at Aviva Centre, Toronto on Saturday April 9^th. More than hundred representatives of over 50 clubs were present for the meeting.  In 2015 the OTA had excellent results in several areas. Rob Nicholls, VP, Finance & Administration, showed how each source of revenue had grown at roughly the same rate over the past 5 years and expenditures in all program areas had grown proportionally. The association had ended the year almost break even but with a small positive net balance of income over expenses.

Ontario junior players had captured most of the outdoor national championship titles and two Ontario junior players, Bianca Andreescu (age 15, ITF junior rank #3) and Denis Shapovalov (age 16) are producing incredible results internationally for their age in the world junior and for Denis, in the ATP rankings. See separate article on Denis’ recent successes.

Jim Boyce outlined a new program launched in 2015, the Freedom 50 program, coordinated by Rick Bertozzi, to encourage mature adults to take up or return to tennis.  Rick is looking to connect interested seniors in all clubs as ambassadors for the sport and t work cooperatively with these ambassadors to boost participation in this demographic. Jim also updated the group on other key tennis promotional projects and on the work of a committee set up to develop an OTA training centre.  With the increased interest in tennis, the Aviva centre reaching capacity and with the prospect that the number of commercially operated tennis facilities is unlikely to grow, the OTA is looking at developing an indoor tennis facility which can be used for tennis player, coach, official and volunteer development and be accessible and beneficial to the entire Ontario tennis community.  The top priority for the committee is to identify a viable site for such a centre.

Jim also noted that the OTA will be celebrating its 100^th birthday in 2018 and plans are already underway to ensure this milestone is celebrated in style. Watch this space for your opportunity to get involved!

After the formal meetings presentations were made to Al McGuire, for his contribution to the association as Chair of Tennis Toronto and participation on the Board and OTA Club Excallence Awards were made to representatives of three clubs, Barrie (see photo), Leaside and Thunder Bay for their excellent efforts to build and support tennis in 2015.   

After lunch breakout sessions were held for clubs to discuss issues of mutual interest and there was the opportunity for prepared participants to take time on the courts with OTA’s outreach staff.

Thanks go to Gulshad and the OTA staff for organizing such an efficient AGM and also to the OTA sponsors who came to the meeting to keep Club Presidents well informed of the opportunities they offer. It is a great opportunity for volunteers to meet and share interests and concerns and for the membership to get lots of information about the association and what it accomplishes.

DENIS WINS ANOTHER FUTURES EVENT

Sixteen-year-old Denis Shapovalov of Toronto captured the second pro singles title of his career on April 10^th by winning the $25K Memphis Futures tournament in Memphis,Tennessee.

A qualifier, Shapovalov had to win two matches in qualifying before reaching the first round of the main draw. He then proceeded to beat three seeded players as he made his way to taking the title.  In the final, he faced the American, Tennys Sandgrenm the number 2 seed with a world ranking more than 200 spots ahead of Denis. This was a hard court event.

In January Shapovalov won his first professional singles event, an ITF  $10K Futures tournament played on clay in Weston, Florida. (See photo here with his coach Adriano Fuorivia), Here he also had to play matches to qualify before working his way through a tough to take the title in straight sets over Pedro Sakamoto.In March he reached the semi-finals of the $50,000 Challenger Banque Nationale de Drummondville, where he lost in three sets to Daniel Evans of Great Britain. With this result he became the first player born in 1999 to win an ATP challenger match.

The Spring issue of Ontario Tennis Magazine includes an interview with Denis or Shap as those who know him refer to him. To see this article go to Ontario Tennis Spring 2016 Shap Attack

JUNIOR INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Ontario Junior Indoor Championships were played during March break at 5 sites around the province.  Thanks go to the staff and volunteers at ACE in Burlington, Ontario Racquet Club in Mississauga, Parkside Tennis Club, Windsor, Ottawa Athletic Club and The Club at Whiteoaks, Niagara on the Lake.

The top 6 singles players and the doubles champions and finalists are listed here.

Under 12 Girls

Singles: Jessica Louisa Alsola, Marina Stakusic, Cadence Brace, Kayla Alexandra Cross, Dasha Plekhanova, Victoria Mboko.

Doubles: Kayla Alexandra Cross & Marina Stakusic, Amelie Gal & Dharani Niroshan.

Under 12 Boys

Singles: Stefan Simeunovic (Niagara), Spencer Keung, Adrian Smith, Stefan Simeunovic (Oakville), Matthew Overvelde, Kirill Chepushtanov.

Doubles: Stefan Simeunovic (Niagara) & Spencer Keung, Matthew Overvelde & Sasha Rozin.

Under 14 Girls

Singles: Rachel Krzyzak, Rachel Hanford, Corina Spasojevic, Dasha Plekhanova, Kristen Borland, Maya Perkucin.

Doubles: Rachel Hanford & Kristen Borland, Rachel Krzyzak & Corina Spasojevic.

Under 14 Boys

Singles: Joshua Lapadat, Ilya Tirapolsky, Trevor Masi, Christopher Heck, Alvin Nicholas Tudorica, Marko Stakusic.

Doubles:Trevor Masi & Ilya Tirapolsky, Joshua Lapadat & Alvin Nicholas Tudorica.

Under 16 Girls

Singles: Viktoriya Tabunshchyk, Natasha Sengphrachanh, Alisia Stephanie Manolescu, Jada Bui, Sofia Kostirko, Corina Spasojevic.

Doubles: Rita Colyer & Natasha Sengphrachanh, Camille Duggal & Sarah Hickey.

Under 16 Boys

Singles: Ryan Navarro, Daniel Fainblum, Liam Draxl, Nick Lagaev, Ethan Meanchos, Peter Kuszynski.

Doubles: Liam Draxl & Ryan Navarro, Daniel Fainblum & Peter Kuszynski.

Under 18 Girls

Singles: Brindtha Ramasamy, Alisia Stephanie Manolescu, Anca Craciun, Anna Philp, Viktoriya Tabunshchyk, Natasha Irani.

Doubles: Ariana Arseneault & Kailen Galazka, Oleksandra Gorchanyuk & Ines Milosevic.

Under 18 Boys

Singles: Luke Smrek, Ryan Navarro, Ivan Mitric, Jakob Nielsen, Clarke Wilson, Liam Draxl.

Doubles: Malik Bhatnagar & Ivan Mitric, Luke Smrek & Roy Stepanov.

Indoor Nationals

Since the Indoor provincials were played, several of these youngsters went to Indoor Nationals and placed well.  Some of their results are listed here.

U12 Doubles champions:  Dasha Plekhanova & Maria Popova, finalists: Sarah Lui & Victoria Mboko Dasha also placed 3 in singles.

U14 Boys Singles champion: Joshua Lapadat, 3^rd:Alvin Nicholas Tudorica. Doubles champions: Joshua and Alvin.  

U14 Girls Singles champion:  Jada Bui, 3^rd :Corina Spasojevic,  4^th: Rachel Krzyzak . Doubles finalists:  Jada and Rachel.

U16 Boys Doubles champions: Liam Draxl & Ryan Navarro. 

U 16 Girls Singles Champion: Ariana Arseneault,  3^rd “ Alisia Stephanie Manolescu . Doubles Champions   Ariana and Jada Bui (see photo), finalist:Rachel Krzyzak (& Elodie Petrecca of Quebec)

U 18 Boys Singles champion: Christian Lakoseljac . Doubles champions: Christian with Victor Krustev. 

U18 Girls Singles finalist: Vanessa Wong, 3^rd :Natasha Sengphrachanh, 4^th : Ines Milosevic. Doubles champion: Isabelle Boulais (with Kirsten Prelle of Alberta).

EASTERN SENIOR INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Senior Indoor Nationals for Men 60 and Over were held at the Donalda Club in Toronto March 16 - 20.  Ontario players who placed well in this event were

O60 Singles Barry Goman, 3 Steve Fricker, 4 Louis Desmarteaux 

O60 Doubles Jim Cameron & Sydney Azancot (PQ), finalists: Rosti Barnkovsky & Sergey Borodulin

O65 Singles finalist: Rosti Brankovsky, 3 Daryl Howes-Jones.  

O65 Doubles champions: Daryl Howes-Jones and Dennis Ing

O70 Singles champion: Hani Ayoub,   Doubles champions: Hani  Ayoub & John Yeomans

O75 Singles Champion: Shaheer Mikhail, 3 Guido Weber 

O80 Singles Champion: Adrian Grice, 3 Morton Katz   Doubles Champions: David Brown & Morton Katz, 2. Adrian Grice & Jean Guy Violette (PQ) 3. Richard Arnold & Ken Dixon.

O85 Singles Champion: David Brown, 2 Richard Arnold, 3 Fred Metrick.

Very few Ontario women went to Montreal to play in the Eastern Senior Women's Indoor Nationals held at Cote de Liesse in April 6 to 10.  Congratulations to the following players for making the journey and placing well!

Kelly Stobbe finalist O50 Singles,

Dale Kozicz finalist O55 singles  

Over 60 singles champion, Christa Cameron, finalist, Patricia Babcock, 3rd place Marg Lansens Smeenk.  

O55 Doubles Champions: Christa and Susan Bye, Finalists Patricia Babcock and Marg Lansens Smeenk. (See photo right to left)

AJAX WINTER TENNIS CELEBRATES 20 YEARS

John Long was thrilled that so many members old and new came out to celebrate 20 years of Ajax Winter Tennis Club.   John is pictured here with Mary Barlow and Marlene Tremblay, just two of the many people who came to watch while others took to the courts for a clinic or to try to win prizes by hitting ball cans strategically placed around the tennis court - an exercise that proved quite difficult even though there were a lot of targets and prizes.

After the tennis there was plenty of food and a cake for everyone to enjoy.

John has written an article on the history of the club which can be found in the Spring Issue of Ontario Tennis.  To go to this article follow the link here.Ontario Tennis Spring 2016 AWT

CELEBRATIONS OF LIFE

The OTA and Tennis Canada are mourning the loss of two volunteers who made huge contributions to the sport of tennis in Ontario and Canada, Gus Morhart and Steve Stevens.

 In our last SPIN monthly we remembered Gus Morhart. Here are the details of his celebration of life.

There will be a get-together and Celebration of Life for Gus Morhart  on

Thursday, February 25^th from 5 to 9pm at

Against the Grain restaurant (main floor)  87 Laird Drive, East York, ON  M4G 3T7  (647) 748-2840

All are welcome. So that Natasha has a good idea of the numbers please  rsvp to Natasha at natashablaskovic@msn.com  if you plan to attend. The restaurant can accommodate up to 300 people.  

Steve Stevens suffered a severe stroke just before Christmas and passed away on January 14th.  Here are the details of his celebration of life. 

A “Celebration of Life” for Steve Stevens will take place Thursday, February 11^th at 7 pm at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club, 44 Price St. in Toronto.

Please come and share a memory about Steve, and have a drink, a snack, and a  laugh, to help celebrate the life of an individual that did so much for tennis and in particular Seniors tennis in Canada.

The following is the announcement Tennis Canada made on Steve's death with a couple of additions to reflect his OTA involvement.  

Tennis Canada lost a long time member of its family on Thursday with the passing of Steve Stevens at the age of 99. Steve was an immensely valuable part of the organization for over three decades and his loss will leave an indelible hole in the entire Canadian tennis community.

Steve revolutionized seniors’ tennis in Canada. His passion for the sport and growing the game was unmatched. He led the growth of seniors’ tennis almost from ground zero, expanding Canada’s representation at the world championships from one team to 20. Through his time, Canada has been home to some of the best seniors players in the world and now regularly achieves success at the world championships every year. Canada’s annual outdoor national tournament was renamed in his honour in 2010 to the Steve Stevens Senior National Tennis Championships.

Born in England in 1916, Steve first became involved in tennis at a young age. He organized a church community club and played socially in Germany and Switzerland. He moved to Brazil in 1951 and after some years without tennis, he took up the sport again in Sao Paulo in 1960 and was an integral part of the tennis community there, including as a delegate of the Sao Paulo Tennis Federation.

After moving to Toronto in October 1967, he shortly thereafter began his involvement with Canadian tennis. He first became a representative for seniors’ tennis on the OTA tournament committee in 1970 and his contribution only grew from there. He was the general manager of the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club from 1969 to 1982, OTA Board member from 1978 to 1987, OTA president from 1982 to 1985 and has been part of Tennis Canada since the early 90s. In 2003 he was one of the inaugural recipients of the OTA Distinguished Service Award because of his contributions to tennis in Ontario.

His annual birthday celebrations in the Tennis Canada offices were not-to-be-missed as Steve would regale the staff with vibrant speeches. He loved bringing people together and organizing parties, and was known for his speeches and ability to tell a tale. He would regularly hold a crowd at every seniors’event.

Up until recently, Steve was still acting in his role of Seniors Tennis Coordinator. He celebrated his 99^th birthday in November at the Toronto Lawn.

His fiery spark and kind spirit will always be remembered. He will be truly and greatly missed by all in the Canadian tennis community, and especially in the seniors’ community where he was synonymous with the sport. He leaves behind a huge legacy, and it is thanks to his vast dedication, passion, and guidance over the years that seniors’ tennis in Canada is in such a positive place today.

Steve passed away at Sunnybrook in Toronto, just weeks after suffering a stroke. 

Photo of Steve Stevens courtesy Peter Figura.

ONTARIO PROS ON TOP DOWN UNDER

Daniel Nestor gets his 1000th ATP win

Sydney, Australia obviously suits Daniel Nestor. It is the city in which he and Sébastien Lareau won the Olympic doubles gold medal and it is also the place where Daniel finally got his 1000^th win on the ATP tour.

To reach this milestone Daniel and partner Marcelo Melo of Brazil managed a fairly routine  6-4, 6-4 win over Leander Paes of India and Jérémy Chardy of France in the APIA International Sydney tournament.

Daniel had hoped to make than elusive win in 2015 but it wasn’t to be. Natasha Daniel’s wife commented, "He was talking about 999 a lot – 'I’m the first player to get to 999' – and he said 'it would be REALLY bad if I were to get injured or even die at this number,' "

Daniel took his wife and daughters to Australia so they could be present when he made the magic number of wins. Daniel is the first player to reach this milestone. The ATP tour web site has an interview with Daniel and his family which can be seen at

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/video/nestor-reflects-on-1000-wins-sydney-2016

Daniel won his first doubles title in 1994 and her has won at least one title in every year to reach a grand total of 88 ATP titles, 8 Grand Slam titles and Olympic Gold. 2009 was his most prolific year in terms of titles. He won 9 that year.

Daniel has also reached 57 finals in which he didn’t take the title.

Congratulations Daniel – may you keep racking up the wins for the remainder of your professional career!!

Milos gets his first title of 2016.

It was a good start to the year for Canadian tennis.

Milos Raonic seemed in excellent form on the courts at Brisbane. And when it came to the final he looked as if 2016 might just be the year that he will regain his best form and nip at the heels of the top players. His supporters were not disappointed as he defeated Roger Federer in straight sets (6-4, 6-4) in the Brisbane International to rack up the 8^th ATP World Tour Title of his career.  In 2015 Milos reached the final of the Brisbane event and lost to Federer.

We hope this win will give Milos the confidence he will need to go deep into the draw at the Australian Open which is now underway.  Go Milos!

GEORGE CARTER MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

The George Carter Memorial Tournament

The George Carter Memorial Tournament, as U9 and U10 Future Stars event was held at Ontario Racquet Club on January 2^nd and 3^rd.

George Carter  was a proud member of the ORC who played regularly at the club and still took lessons until  he was well into his 80s.  His positive attitude and gentle nature made him an inspiration to many players. George represented Canada in ITF senior world team championships on many occasions. 

The emphasis in these events is on playing and gaining experience. Players play in round robin pools and if time permits, elimination draws are played between poll winners.

In the Boys under 9 event Claire Podolsky, Lev Sherifali and Maxim Gregory Mieczkowski  placed 1 through 3 as pool winners.

In the Boys under 10 event Lucas Kimelman won over Alexandru Filoti in the elimination final. Evan Vanderstarren and Kristofer Todorov were the other pool winners.

In the girls under 10 event Gian Hannah Octa was declared the winner and 8 year old Stasia Laine Kryk was the finalist. Stasia is a member of the AMA Tennis and Badminton Club in Amherstburg.

Thank you to Jason Kryk for sending us this lovely photo of Gian and Stasia with Andrea Rabzak of Ontario Racquet Club. 

WILSON MAYFAIR SENIOR ITF TOURNAMENT

Wilson/Mayfair Senior ITF Tournament

The first Senior ITF tournament of 2015 was the Wilson Mayfair tournament held Jan 2 to 4 a great way for people to deliver on any new year resolutions to get fitter or to play more tennis!

The winners and finalists were as follows:-

MS35 Simon Tremblay-Larouche, Vahid Tahamtan

MD35 Olivier Borlee & Patric Sachetelli, Asad Hussain & Tarik Kamel

MS 40 Olivier Borlee, Jason Christie

MS 45  Ben Woo, John Murray

MD 45 Tarik Kamel & Nels Stanfield, Martin Lemay & Mike O’Neill

MS 50 Graham Watt, Martin Lemay

MS 55 Mike Rose (USA), Denis Dumas

MD 55 Fraser Macdonald & Marc Pepin, Sergey Borodulin & Rosti Brankovsky

MS 60 Sergey Borodulin, Steve Fricker

MS 65 Dennis Ing, Daryl Howes-Jones

MD 65 James Boyce & Dennis Ing, Don Anderson & Raul Hernandez

WS 35  Leigh Bradwell, Liane Marr

WD 35 Leigh Bradwell & Liane Marr, Nancy Behm & Sandra Cimetta

WS 40 Nicole Wolfe, Julie Landreville

WS 45 Jennifer Bishop, Patti Thornicroft

WD 45 Jennifer Bishop & Kelly Stobbe, Susan Danac-Smith & Nancy Lin (see photo right to left)

WS 50 Cindy O’Doherty, Stephanie Myles

WS 55 Erin Boynton, Susanna Sekely

WD 55 Patricia Babcock & Margaret Lansens Smeenk, Susanna Sekely & Janice Hebert

WS 60 Patricia Babcock, Susan Bye

WS 65 Cathie Joyce, Rosemary Antze

The next Wilson Mayfair Senior ITF tournament will be held  Feb 12 to 15.  Singles age categories 35 to 65 (5 year increments). Doubles for categories ending in “5” with sign up on site. Singles entries close Jan 27^th.

Don’t forget these other dates for your calendar!

Mar 16 - 20 Eastern Indoors Nationals Super Senior Men (60 and up), Donalda Club, Toronto

Apr 6-10 Eastern Indoor Nationals Senior Women (all ages) Club Sportif Cote de Liesse, Montreal

Apr 13-17 Eastern Indoor Nationals Senior Men (O35 to O55) Club Sportif Cote de Liesse, Montreal

Apr 27 – May1 Western Indoor Nationals , Glencoe & Winter Club, Calgary

Aug 21 -27 Steve Stevens Senior Outdoor Nationals, Ottawa Lawn, Riseau and West Ottawa Clubs, Ottawa 

CHRISTMAS BREAK OPEN TOURNAMENTS

CHRISTMAS BREAK OPEN TOURNAMENTS

There are two Open tournaments held each December over the Christmas break. These tournaments are particularly popular as those players who are away at university get a chance to catch up with one another while still keeping their games in shape, and for the up and coming juniors it is a chance for them to see hoe their skills match against those players who have recently moved into the adult ranks.

The $9000 ACE Circuit Canada Indoor Open Championships were held Dec 19 to 24.

The men’s singles was won by Winston Lin of the USA, who played fellow American, Marcus Fugate in the final. Malik Bhatnagar and Martin Beran were the semifinalists.

The women’s singles was won by Maureen Drake, who is now eligible to play seniors events but can still teach the youngsters a thing or two in competition.  Sandra Dynka was the finalist and Charlotte Petrick and Katarina Kopcalic were semi-finalists.

The Copacabana Open was held at White Oaks  Resort in Niagara on the Lake  Dec 27^th to 31^st.

In the men’s singles another Lin, Jack Mingjie Lin, who is still a junior beat out American and winner of the ACE event, Winston Lin, in the final.  Henry Choi and Martin Beran were the semi-finalists.

The women’s singles was won by Isabelle Boulais, who beat her doubles partner, Charlotte Petrick in the final. Isabelle is the daughter of Yves Boulais and Patricia Hy-Boulais who are now working  at Ontario Racquet Club in Mississauga. Petra Januskova and Louise Kwong were the semi-finalists.

In the men’s doubles,  Martin Beran and Jesse Flores took the title beating the American duo, Winston Lin and Marcus Fugate in the final. The teams of Jack Mingjie Lin/Nicaise Muamba and Victor Krustev/Christian Lakoseljac were semifinalists.

The women’s doubles event was won by Isabelle Boulais and Charlotte Petrick.  Petra Januskova and Maria Patrascu were finalists. While Sandra Dynka/Louise Kwong and Jade Hilton/Savanna Ly made it through to the semi-finals.

Thank you to Dr. Vijay Bhatnagar who sent us this photo of Malik Bhatnagar with Vasek Pospisil in Florida in early December.