Photo : Martin Sidorjak
All eyes were on Gabriela Dabrowski in the second week of Wimbledon and the doubles star from Canada shone.
While she did not leave the All England Club with the winner’s trophy, Canada’s top doubles player continued to show that she is one of the best in the world with a big summer ahead of her.
Here’s what you need to know.
In Case You Missed: Dabrowski Comes Close at AELTC
Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe are approaching one year together as a tandem and they nearly won their second major at Wimbledon, reaching the final where they lost in two tiebreaks to Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend.
The Canadian-Kiwi pair had a couple of tough tests in the second round and in the quarter-finals but were able to book their place in the title match with a strong win over Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk. However, the veterans Siniakova and Townsend managed to play better in the breakers to swipe the trophy.
All other Canadians were eliminated in the first week of Wimbledon.
What to Watch: Auger-Aliassime Returns to Clay
With the next big event on the tennis calendar, the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, being on clay, Félix Auger-Aliassime is returning to the dirt this week at the ATP 250 event in Gstaad, Switzerland.
Read also: Meet the ATP Top 10 Ahead of the National Bank Open in Montreal
The Canadian is seeded fourth and, after a bye, will meet either Yannick Hanfmann or Damir Dzumhur. He is in the same quarter as No. 6 seed Matteo Berrettini and could meet top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals.
Auger-Aliassime also entered the doubles in Gstaad but lost in round one to top seeds Jamie Murray and Adam Pavlasek alongside Swiss Dominic Stricker.
Gabriel Diallo is sticking around on grass for another week. He is competing at the final lawn event of the season in Newport, Rhode Island. The 6’8 Canadian will face a qualifier in round one and could meet No. 8 seed Rinky Hijikata in the second round.
His projected quarter-final opponent is top seed and defending champion Adrian Mannarino.
Under the Radar: Wheelchair Wins
Canadians had two significant victories last week on the ITF Wheelchair Tour from two players at very different stages of their careers.
18-year-old Frederique Berube Perron had her breakthrough on home soil at the Vancouver International Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, claiming her first ITF wheelchair singles title.
Unseeded, she did not drop a set on her way to the title, beating Laura Goodkind 6-2, 6-4 in the final. Berube Perron doubled up in Vancouver, also winning the doubles with Goodkind, her second ITF doubles win.
Read also: Meet the WTA Top 10 Ahead of the National Bank Open in Toronto
Rob Shaw finally got his hands on a singles trophy in 2024 last week, capturing the German Open where he was the top seed, without dropping a set. In the final, he avenged his 2023 Parapan Am Games final defeat to Francisco Cayulef.
Having already won four doubles titles in 2024, it is the Canadian’s first singles win on the ITF circuit since 2022.
Steven Diez broke a long title drought last week on the ITF Tour, winning the M25 event in Roda de Bera Spain. He upset second seed Alberto Barroso Campos in three sets in the final.
It is Diez’s first singles title since 2019.
The ITF Junior Tour continued its stay in Western Canada with a J100 event in Vancouver last week. All four titles were won by Canadians, with Connor Church and Raphaelle Leroux each winning singles and doubles titles.
Leroux won the doubles with fellow Canadian Emma Andrea Tutoveanu, while Church teamed up with American Zachary Cohen to win the boys doubles.
Canada played host to its first ATP Challenger Tour event last week in Winnipeg, won by Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi. Click here to read the full tournament recap.
The ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Women’s World Tour are stopping in Granby, Quebec this week. A Canadian man has won the Granby Challenger title in back-to-back years (2022: Gabriel Diallo, 2023: Alexis Galarneau).
You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.
