Photo: Sarah-Jade Champagne
The 2022 Birmingham National Wheelchair Tennis Championships kicks off today at IGA Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, as players from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia prepare for a chance at taking home the national titles. The tournament is the biggest national wheelchair tennis event in Canada, and will be held from November 3 to 6.
After the Birmingham Nationals were postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it returned in 2021 in full force, with Thomas Venos (BC) and Natalia Lanucha (QC) winning both the singles and doubles titles in their respective divisions. In doubles, Venos paired up with fellow British Columbian Barry Henderson to claim the crown, while Lanucha won her doubles trophy alongside another British Columbia native, Kirsten Sharp. Venos, Lanucha, and Henderson will be back to defend their titles in 2022.
While there won’t be a quad division at this year’s event, Tennis Canada is pleased to confirm that the Birmingham Nationals will have its very first junior’s draw. Four of Canada’s next-gen wheelchair athletes – John Chen, Frédérique Bérubé-Perron, Samuel Peters, and Lachlan Sandford – will make up the brand-new division and will have their eyes set on the inaugural junior national title. In addition, the men’s and women’s singles and doubles divisions will all be returning, with a total of 35 players entered at this year’s tournament.
Click here to see the full list of players scheduled to take part in the 2022 Birmingham Nationals.
For more information, visit the Birmingham Nationals website and make sure to follow the Tennis Canada and Wheelchair Tennis Canada accounts on social media. Additionally, the finals on Sunday, November 6, will be live streamed on Tennis Canada’s YouTube channel and on CBC’s website, here.
