Canada's Men's and Women's Wheelchair Tennis Teams competed at the 2023 BNP Paribas Americas Qualifier in Puebla, Mexico from Febraury 13-16.
BC athletes Thomas Venos and Barry Henderson donned the red and white to compete for the Men's Team while Provincial Coach Sarah Hunter captained (coached) the Women's Team in Mexico.
The Men's team got off to a strong start as they won their first two matches 3-0 against Peru and Guatemala before dropping a tight match 2-1 to group winners Costa Rica.
Thomas and Barry then played Colombia for 3rd, falling 2-0 and tying their result from the last Americas Qualifier in 2020. Ontario's Shawn Courchesne rounded out the Men's Team captained by Kai Schrameyer
The Canadian women's team of Anne-Marie Dollnar, Candice Combdon (Ontario), Natalia Lanucha (Quebec) battled their way to the final by defeating Peru 3-0 in the first round and faced a tough Chilean team in the final who won out 2-1.
This was the Canadian Women's first participation in the World Team Cup in over a decade.
The focus for BC's Wheelchair Tennis players now shifts to the ITF UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour where they will aim to improve their rankings with the 2023 Parapan Games on the horizon this fall.