Team Canada’s Paris 2024 tennis team unveiled
TORONTO (June 27, 2024) – Tennis Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced the roster of Team Canada athletes nominated to compete in tennis at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The athletes are:
Bianca Andreescu (Mississauga, Ont.) – Women’s Singles
Félix Auger-Aliassime (Montreal, Que.) – Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles
Gabriela Dabrowski (Ottawa, Ont.) – Women’s Doubles
Leylah Annie Fernandez (Laval, Que.) – Women’s Singles, Women’s Doubles
Milos Raonic (Thornhill, Ont.) – Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles
The athletes qualified for Paris 2024 based on their WTA and ATP Tour rankings as of Monday, June 10, 2024. Andreescu and Raonic used their protected rankings to gain direct entry. For women’s doubles, Fernandez will partner with Dabrowski, while Auger-Aliassime will pair up with Raonic in men’s doubles.
The entry list for mixed doubles will also be based on ranking, but determined via an on-site sign-in the week of the Olympic tennis tournament. It will comprise athletes who are already participating in one of the other four draws.
Andreescu will make her Olympic debut at Paris 2024. The 24-year-old made history when she won the 2019 U.S Open, becoming the first-ever Canadian Grand Slam singles champion and the first player to win the singles title at the U.S. Open in their first appearance in that Grand Slam’s main draw. That year, she also won two WTA 1000 series tournaments in Indian Wells and Toronto. Andreescu reached a career high of a No. 4 on the WTA rankings in 2019. After battling through a series of injuries throughout the following years, she is thrilled to be able to play in her first Olympic Games.
“Playing at the Olympic Games has been a huge goal of mine these past few months as I have been working my way back from injury,” said Andreescu. “It is always an honour to represent my country and I cannot wait to do that again alongside Canada’s incredible team of athletes on the world’s biggest stage in Paris. This is a dream come true and I can’t wait to soak up the Olympic atmosphere and give it everything.”
21-year-old Fernandez will look to build on the Olympic experience she gained playing in the women’s singles tournament at Tokyo 2020. She is Canada’s highest-ranked women’s singles entry, currently 30th in the WTA rankings. Fernandez has three career singles titles, winning in Hong Kong in 2023, as well as Monterrey in both 2021 and 2022. As a finalist in the 2021 U.S. Open, she achieved her best Grand Slam result. She reached the singles quarterfinals at the 2022 French Open and the women’s doubles final at the 2023 French Open, both at Roland-Garros, where the Paris 2024 tennis tournaments will be contested. Fernandez was also the player who clinched Canada’s first-ever title at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in 2023, where she defeated Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.
“It’s an honor to be able to represent Canada at the Olympic Games again,” said Fernandez. “I had a lot of fun at the last Games in Tokyo and can’t wait to join the rest of the team in Paris. It’s a great experience to be able to meet and spend time with athletes from other disciplines. We are all normally so focused within our own sports, and the Olympics gives us all a chance to learn from each other and come together as one big family.”
Fernandez will team up with Dabrowski in women’s doubles. Dabrowski, ranked fourth in the world in women’s doubles, has 16 career titles in women’s doubles, including a Grand Slam title at the 2023 U.S. Open. She was a key player in Canada’s historic triumph at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals. It was a victory by Dabrowski and Fernandez in the doubles match that won the semifinal over the Czech Republic. Dabrowski will make her third Olympic appearance.
“In sport, there is no greater honour than competing in the Olympics alongside the best athletes in the world,” said Dabrowski “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to participate and partner with Leylah. Can’t wait to be there!”
Auger-Aliassime, ranked 17th in the ATP singles ranking, will make his second Olympic appearance after having played in men’s singles and mixed doubles at Tokyo 2020. He had a breakout 2022 season as he advanced to his third straight Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open, won his first career title in Rotterdam, and then won three titles in three weeks late in the year in Florence, Antwerp and Basel. This year, he reached the final in Madrid to become the first Canadian ATP Masters 1000 finalist on clay courts.
“It’s an honour to represent my country at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, I’m delighted to be part of Team Canada,” said Auger-Aliassime. “It’s a global event that brings the world and the athletes together around the Olympic values of friendship, respect and excellence; I’m proud to be part of this inspiring event and I look forward to carrying the Canadian flag as high and far as possible.”
Raonic will make his return to the Olympic courts after his last appearance at London 2012 where he advanced to the second round in men’s singles. The 33-year-old made his mark on the tennis world when he became the first Canadian Grand Slam men’s singles finalist at the 2016 Wimbledon. He has eight career singles titles, all coming on hard courts between 2011 and 2016. He reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world in November 2016.
“It’s a real honour to be able to represent Team Canada at the 2024 Paris Games. My first Olympic experience at London 2012 was amazing, and I’m sure this will be even more so,” said Raonic. “We, as a team, have such strength in depth that we go there with the chance of doing something special. For me, this is an opportunity I thought might not come around again, so I’m going to savour every moment.”
Auger-Aliassime and Raonic will both play in the men’s singles tournament and team up to play men’s doubles.
The Canadian tennis team heads to Paris on the back of unparalleled success on the international stage. Canada is the reigning world champion of women’s team tennis, having clinched the Billie Jean King Cup title last November. Meanwhile, the men’s team – which included Auger-Aliassime – won Canada’s first-ever Davis Cup title in 2022. Canada’s only Olympic tennis medal was won at Sydney 2000 where Daniel Nestor and Sébastien Lareau claimed gold in men’s doubles.
“We know there is no greater honour for these players than representing their country. Having won the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup in the last two years, we go to these Games with the expectation of competing for medals,” said Guillaume Marx, Vice President, High Performance at Tennis Canada. “The strength of our women’s and men’s players has been proven by consistent results on the court. We are very proud of this group and look forward to arriving in Paris and to competing against the best players in the world.”
Tennis will take place from July 27 to August 4 (Day 1 to 9) at Roland-Garros.
‘’Team Canada’s tennis athletes are on the rise. Their historic performances over the past few years forecast great success in Paris,‘’ said Bruny Surin, Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Chef de Mission. ‘’The strength of this team, combined with their focus and powerful play, will be a formidable force on the legendary courts of Roland Garros. Get ready to see our tennis stars step up and represent Canada loud and proud.”
Team Canada’s tennis team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games also includes the following coaches and support staff:
Coaches:
Heidi El Tabakh (Toronto, Ont.) – Women’s Tennis Coach
Frank Dancevic (Niagara Falls, Ont.) – Men’s Tennis Coach
Support Staff:
Guillaume Marx (Montreal, Que.) – Vice President, High Performance, Tennis Canada
Janet Petras (Vancouver, B.C.) – Team Leader
Nicolas Perrotte (Montreal, Que.) – Fitness Coach
Alain Beaupre (Montreal, Que.) – Team Logistics
Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organizations.
The latest Team Canada Paris 2024 roster can be found here.
Media Advisory:
A member of the Canadian Olympic tennis team will be hosting a virtual media availability on Friday, June 28, 2024. For more information, please reach out to media@tenniscanada.com.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Oliver Wheeler
Senior Manager, Communications
C: 647-458-4005
E: owheeler@tenniscanada.com
Tara MacBournie, Program Manager, Sport Communications
Canadian Olympic Committee
C: 647-522-8328
E: tmacbournie@olympic.ca