No Canadian tennis player has ever won a Grand Slam singles title, with Eugenie Bouchard and Milos Raonic coming closest by reaching the Wimbledon final in 2014 and 2016 respectively. But that statistical quirk could change in the near future. That’s because three of the most exciting prospects in world tennis all happen to be teenagers from Canada: Bianca Andreescu, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov. With all of them still going strong at Indian Wells this week, Tennis Podcast presenters David Law (BT Sport, BBC 5 Live) and Catherine Whitaker (Amazon Prime Video) take a look at what makes each of them special.
Denis Shapovalov is the best-known of the trio, having beaten Rafael Nadal in 2017 and achieved a career-high ranking inside the Top 25. His form plateaued last year, but the early signs are good in 2019. He was one of only two players to take a set off Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, and it looks as though he’s beginning to mould the components of his game and become a more consistent force.
Not only do these three players have the world at their feet, they’ve also been shaped by the world. Andreescu grew up in Ontario with her Romanian parents. Shapovalov was born in Tel Aviv and his mother represented the Soviet Union. Auger-Aliassime was raised as a French-speaker in Quebec, with his father immigrating to Canada from Togo.
This confluence of cultures is now Canada’s gain, with Andreescu, Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime having all proudly represented Canada in Fed and Davis Cup competition. Tennis Canada, whose CEO is the former LTA chief Michael Downey, will now be hoping that this gifted generation can make good on their immense promise. Only time will tell. But one thing is for sure: Canadian tennis fans have every reason to be excited about the future.
This episode of The Tennis Podcast, produced in association with Telegraph Sport, also discusses all the other major storylines from Indian Wells, as well as the political turmoil at the ATP, with news that President Chris Kermode will not have his contract renewed at the end of the year.