The year 2024 marked a series of achievements for Canadian tennis athletes. Rising stars Gabriel Diallo and Marina Stakusic stepped into the limelight, demonstrating their potential as the next big talents from the Great White North. However, the focus wasn’t solely on the younger players, as several of Canada’s seasoned competitors were also able to […]
The year 2024 marked a series of achievements for Canadian tennis athletes. Rising stars Gabriel Diallo and Marina Stakusic stepped into the limelight, demonstrating their potential as the next big talents from the Great White North.
However, the focus wasn’t solely on the younger players, as several of Canada’s seasoned competitors were also able to reach new heights.
As the season wraps up, let’s reflect on some of the accomplishments attained by Canadians in 2024.
Career Years
Gabriel Diallo
After showcasing glimpses of his talent during his rookie season as a professional in 2023, Diallo took substantial steps forward in his second year.
His initial breakthrough arrived in May when he secured a spot in his first Grand Slam main draw, achieving victory in three consecutive three-set matches to qualify for Roland-Garros. He then excelled during the summer, even achieving a seven-match winning streak that included clinching his third ATP Challenger Tour title in Chicago.
He reached new milestones at the US Open, successfully qualifying again and this time achieving his first win in a Grand Slam main draw against Jaume Munar. He went on to secure his fourth victory against a Top 30 player, defeating No. 24 Arthur Fils in the second round to advance to the third round of a major for the first time, where he was defeated by No. 14 Tommy Paul in four closely contested sets. Diallo was the last Canadian remaining in singles competition in New York.
After qualifying for the Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai, Diallo had his standout performance at the ATP 250 event in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The Canadian triumphed over consecutive Top 40 opponents to reach his inaugural final on the ATP Tour. He was narrowly defeated by world No. 26 Karen Khachanov, who was ranked nearly 100 places higher than Diallo, in a tightly contested three-set final.
Thanks to his finals appearance in Almaty, Diallo climbed into the Top 100 of the ATP rankings for the first time, briefly surpassing Denis Shapovalov as the No. 2 Canadian in the ATP rankings. He will conclude 2024 at No. 86, which is his highest career ranking to date.
Marina Stakusic
Stakusic entered the 2024 season under the spotlight after a tremendous finish at the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023.
The 19-year-old consistently progressed this year, making her debut in a Grand Slam at Wimbledon after coming through qualifying and securing her first WTA 1000 match win at the National Bank Open in Toronto.
Similar to her performance in 2023, Stakusic reserved her most impressive results for the fall. In September, she advanced to her first tour-level quarter-final at the WTA 500 Guadalajara Open, upsetting top seed and then-world No. 12 Jelena Ostapenko in the second round, achieving the biggest victory of her career by ranking. The following month, she qualified at the WTA 125 event in Tampico, Mexico, and claimed the most significant title of her career so far.
Following her triumph in Tampico, Stakusic attained a career-high ranking of No. 116 globally. She is expected to finish just below this ranking, but it will still mark her best year-end position by over 100 places, having entered 2024 ranked No. 258 in the world.
Gabriela Dabrowski
2024 proved to be another significant year for Canada’s top doubles player.
A year after making history as the first Canadian woman to win a Grand Slam title in doubles, Dabrowski became the first Canadian to both reach the final and claim the title at the WTA Finals in any category.
July was a highlighted month for the Ottawa native, as she reached another major final at Wimbledon, propelling her to a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world. By securing the title in Riyadh in November, she concluded the year ranked No. 3, marking her best-ever year-end ranking.
Additionally, in July, Dabrowski achieved the milestone of being the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic medal in tennis, taking home bronze in mixed doubles alongside Félix Auger-Aliassime.
Rebecca Marino
As 2024 commenced, Marino had never clinched a title above the W60 category. By the year’s end, she had secured four singles trophies, all surpassing that level.
In February, she triumphed in her first ITF W100 title in Guanajuato, Mexico. Later, in July, she added another title in Ilkley, United Kingdom. On her home turf in Calgary in October, she earned a W75 title, which was larger than any accolade she had won prior to 2024.
Marino concluded the year with a flourish, earning her first title at a WTA-sanctioned event in October at the WTA 125 event in Midland, Michigan. This victory represented the pinnacle of her singles career, wrapping up a year filled with significant achievements. A month earlier, the seasoned player also secured her second WTA 125 doubles title, equaling her best-ever result.
Several players currently within the Top 500 also achieved their career-high rankings in 2024.
*Player also projected to have the highest year-end ranking
**Player expected to conclude 2024 at a career-high ranking
- Liam Draxl: ATP doubles No. 142(Nov)**, ATP singles No. 233 (Oct)*
- Ariana Arseneault: WTA doubles No. 149 (Nov)**
- Alexis Galarneau: ATP singles No. 153 (May)
- Bianca Jolie Fernandez: WTA doubles No. 170 (Oct)*
- Cleeve Harper: ATP doubles No. 175 (Nov)**
- Kayla Cross: WTA doubles No. 180 (Nov)**, WTA singles No. 269 (Nov)*
- Mia Kupres: WTA doubles No. 185 (Nov)**
- Kelsey Stevenson: ATP doubles No. 196 (May)
- Benjamin Sigouin: ATP doubles No. 200 (July)*
- Stacey Fung: WTA singles No. 222 (Feb)
- Juan Carlos Aguilar: ATP doubles No. 242 (Jan)
- Carson Branstine: WTA singles No. 252 (Nov)*
- Victoria Mboko: WTA singles No. 284 (Oct)
- Cadence Brace: WTA singles No. 314 (Oct)*
Doubles Delight
The 2024 WTA National Bank Open in Toronto was a significant event for the home nation in doubles, beyond the fact that Dabrowski reached the final.
Five Canadians (six if you include Dabrowski’s partner Erin Routliffe, who was raised and trained in Canada but represents New Zealand) participated in the quarter-finals, with two all-Canadian teams included. This marked the highest total of Canadians and all-Canadian pairs in the final eight of the National Bank Open since it transitioned to a WTA Tier I event, which was the precursor to the current WTA 1000 level, in 1990.
The Fernandez sisters, Bianca Jolie and Leylah Annie, made it to the semifinals, becoming the first all-Canadian duo to reach the final four in over a decade.
Ariana Arseneault and Mia Kupres enjoyed their breakthrough, reaching their first tour-level quarter-final at the WTA 1000 event. This was part of a successful year for the pair, who captured two ITF titles on home soil in Granby and Saskatoon and reached their first WTA 125 final in Midland in November.
Both Canadian pairs were eliminated by Dabrowski and Routliffe, who finished as runners-up.
Read also: Canadian Doubles Shine in Toronto
The Missile Landed (A Lot)
Milos Raonic participated in only 11 matches in 2024, but he still made an impact.
During the first round of the cinch Championships at the Queen’s Club in London, the Canadian delivered an unforgettable performance. Raonic showcased that his serve remains one of the best globally, registering 47 aces against Cameron Norrie in a stunning upset over the former Wimbledon semifinalist.
These 47 aces marked the highest number ever recorded in a best-of-three match.
200-Win Club
Canada’s leading two male players both achieved their 200th career win on the ATP Tour in 2024.
Félix Auger-Aliassime reached this milestone first, defeating Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the Italian Open in May, thus becoming the second Canadian man after Milos Raonic and the second male athlete born in the 2000s after Jannik Sinner to achieve this feat.
Denis Shapovalov soon followed, achieving his milestone in October by defeating Lorenzo Sonego in the first round of the Shanghai Masters, becoming the third Canadian to reach 200 wins. The victory in Shanghai marked the beginning of a successful fall for Shapovalov, culminating in him winning his second career title in Belgrade in November.
First 1000 Final for FAA
Despite not having an overall stellar year, Auger-Aliassime still managed to achieve some of his career’s finest results in 2024.
At the Madrid Masters in April/May, the Montreal native excelled. Although he benefited from a favorable draw, Auger-Aliassime seized his chance, reaching the first Masters 1000 final of his career. His impressive run included a victory over world No. 6 and two-time Roland-Garros finalist Casper Ruud in the fourth round.
By reaching the Madrid final, Auger-Aliassime became the third Canadian man to progress to a Masters 1000 singles final, alongside Denis Shapovalov (Paris 2019) and Raonic (who reached four finals), and the first to accomplish this on clay.
Although Auger-Aliassime came close to becoming the first Canadian to win a Masters 1000 singles title, he managed to take the first set against Andrey Rublev and was just two games away from victory in both the second and third sets. Ultimately, he fell short 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
In the past five Masters 1000 singles finals, Canadian men had combined to win only one set (Raonic in the 2020 “Cincinnati” final). The Madrid result marked the initiation of several strong performances for Auger-Aliassime on clay throughout 2024, which included a round of 16 appearance at Roland-Garros, a fourth-place finish in singles, and his bronze medal win with Dabrowski during the Paris Olympics.
