THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh, AP Photo, AP Photo/Kyle Green
It was a weekend to remember on the tennis courts as Gabriela Dabrowski won something no Canadian woman had won before and Denis Shapovalov held a trophy aloft after five long years.
On the ice, Team Homan put together another perfect tournament while Team Canada took two of three games in the first installment of this season’s Rivalry Series against Team USA in women’s hockey.
Read on for the details from the moments you might have missed.
Tennis: Dabrowski makes history at WTA Finals
Just a few months after becoming the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic medal in tennis, Gabriela Dabrowski became the first Canadian woman to win a title at the WTA Finals. She and her partner Erin Routliffe, who represents New Zealand, defeated Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in straight sets (7-5, 6-3) in Saturday’s final to claim the women’s doubles trophy. There was a measure of revenge as it had been that same duo who had defeated Dabrowski and Routliffe in the final at Wimbledon this summer.
By just reaching the final, Dabrowski had made history by being the first Canadian woman to play in a final at the year-end championships. Grant Connell, Sébastien Lareau, and Daniel Nestor previously won the men’s doubles title at the ATP Finals.
Dabrowski and Routliffe were a perfect 3-0 through the group stage of the WTA Finals before winning their semifinal on Friday in straight sets. Dabrowski will now join Team Canada at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain where the defending champions have a first round bye and will play in the quarterfinals on Sunday.
Tennis: Shapovalov wins first title in five years
Denis Shapovalov has claimed his second career ATP Tour title—and first since 2019—at the Belgrade Open. The Canadian needed to win seven matches after having to go through qualifying. But he persevered, dropping just one set in the tournament and dominating his last four matches. He capped it off with a 6-4, 6-4 win over local favourite Hamad Medjedovic, firing 13 aces and winning 82 per cent of his first-serve points in the final. Shapovalov had lost the last five finals in which he had appeared.
Shapovalov also has team tennis just ahead on his schedule, joining Team Canada at the Davis Cup Finals which will also take place in Malaga. Canada will face Germany in the quarterfinals on November 20.
Curling: Team Homan goes perfect at second Grand Slam
Skip Rachel Homan earned a record-extending 16th career Grand Slam of Curling women’s title on Sunday, taking the victory at the Co-op Canadian Open.
The team of Homan, third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, and lead Sarah Wilkes defeated Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni, who won four straight world titles from 2019 to 2023, by a score of 7-5 in the final. That capped a perfect 7-0 record for the Ottawa-based team during the bonspiel. Team Homan had been the runners-up at the first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season in Charlottetown. The team now has a 33-2 record on the season with four titles in five tournaments.
In the men’s tournament, Team Gushue—skip Brad Gushue, third Mark Nichols, second Brendan Bottcher, and lead Geoff Walker—finished as the runners-up, losing their second straight Grand Slam of Curling final to Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat. Team Gushue had won six straight games before dropping the final 6-3.
Hockey: Team Canada takes two of three in Rivalry Series
Canada’s National Women’s Team won two of the three games that comprised the first leg of the Rivalry Series against Team USA.
After starting with a 7-2 loss on Wednesday, Team Canada came back with a 5-4 shootout win on Friday, followed by a 4-1 victory on Sunday.
In Friday’s game, Canada had been up 4-1 before the U.S. scored three times late in the third period to tie it. Chloe Primerano got the winner in the fifth round of the shootout. Laura Stacey had scored twice in the game while Marie-Philip Poulin added a shorthanded goal. Ann-Renée Desbiens made 28 saves.
In Sunday’s game, Poulin earned an assist to give her 220 career points to move into fourth place all-time in National Women’s Team scoring behind only Hayley Wickenheiser, Jayna Hefford, and Caroline Ouellette. Emerance Macshmeyer made 36 saves in the win.
With the PWHL’s second season about the begin, the Rivalry Series will resume in early February with games in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Summerside, P.E.I.