Rob Shaw’s 2024 season officially came to an end on Wednesday as the Canadian quad wheelchair tennis player was eliminated in the group stage of the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters, the year-end championships for wheelchair tennis, in Arnhem, Netherlands.
As the No. 7 quad player in the ITF rankings in October, Shaw had qualified for the eight-player field at the prestigious year-end championships. It was his third year in a row qualifying for the Wheelchair Masters.
However, hampered by injury, Shaw was physically limited in his round-robin matches. He lost to world No. 1 Sam Schroder and No. 4 Ahmet Kaplan in straight sets before retiring one game into his final group stage match on Wednesday against No. 6 Andy Lapthorne.
Shaw had not played since the Paralympics in Paris back in September due to a shoulder injury. The Canadian only competed at the Masters because the ITF handbook states that if a player who receives direct entry to a mandatory event chooses not to enter, they will receive zero points. That zero cannot be removed or replaced from his ranking, meaning he would be forced to carry it for the next year. As this is one of a limited number of events from which Shaw can accrue rankings points annually, it was crucial that he attempt to take part.
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Even with the early elimination in Arnhem, Shaw is projected to end the season ranked inside the Top 10 of the quad rankings for the third year in a row and fifth time in the last six seasons. The 34-year-old is currently ranked eighth, which should it hold would be his second-highest year-end finish (he finished 2022 at No. 7).
Despite the disappointing end to the season, 2024 was a highly successful year for Shaw. He won two singles titles in Geneva and Berlin, with the former being his first ITF 1 Series victory making it the biggest win of his career to date.
Those two wins both came in July in the lead-up to the Paris Paralympics, where Shaw won his opening match against Brazil’s Ymanitu Silva in straight sets for his first-ever Paralympic match win. That victory also stretched Shaw’s winning streak to nine matches, which included the title runs in Geneva and Berlin. He lost in the second round to the eventual gold medalist Niels Vink.
The Canadian had even more success in doubles in 2024, winning five titles, all at the ITF 1 Series level or higher, including a career-best win at the ITF Super Series Japan Open in April.