Canadian wheelchair tennis pioneers inducted into World Tennis Wheelchair Hall of Champions

TORONTO – Canadian wheelchair tennis pioneers Christian Gingras of Quebec City, Séverine Tamborero of Montreal and Kai Schrameyer of Vancouver have been inducted into the World Tennis Wheelchair Hall of Champions.

This is a new initiative launched by World Tennis to mark the 50^th anniversary of wheelchair tennis. Inductees from the U.S, France, Great Britain and Australia have also been announced with more to come.

The Canadian trio was honored for their induction earlier this week at the National Bank Open in Montreal for their contributions to the growth and development of wheelchair tennis in Canada and internationally.

‘’Kai, Christine and Séverine have each played an instrumental role in building wheelchair tennis in Canada,’’ said Janet Petras, Tennis Canada’s Director of High Performance Operations and Paralympic Programs in a news release.

‘’Their passion, leadership, expertise and commitment have helped create opportunities for generations of athletes and have left a legacy that continues to influence the sport today.’’

Schrameyer, a former world number-one player and three-time Paralympian for Germany, joined Tennis Canada in 2010 and has been instrumental in developing the sport in Canada.

As national coach of wheelchair tennis, he has overseen high performance and development programs while helping Canadian athletes achieve international success.

Under his leadership, Canada won its first wheelchair tennis medal at the Parapan American Games in 2015, followed by its first gold four years later.

Gingras has spent more than two decades coaching Canadian athletes. He has served as a national team coach, World Team Cup captain and Paralympic coach.

In 2015, he coached Philippe Bédard and Joel Dembe to bronze at the Toronto Parapan Am Games, Canada’s first wheelchair tennis medal at a multi-sport Games. The following year he was named World Tennis Wheelchair Tennis Coach of the Year.

A respected high-performance coach and longtime leader within Canadian tennis, Tamborero played a pivotal role in the development of wheelchair tennis during her tenure with Tennis Canada.

 Between 2000 and 2009, she led Canada’s national wheelchair tennis program and coached the team at three Paralympic Games (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and Beijing 2008).

Beyond wheelchair tennis, Tamborero has spent more than three decades helping shape athlete and coach development in Canada. she has held numerous leadership positions within Tennis Canada and remains an influential voice in high-performance sport as a mentor, consultant, author and analyst.

With files from Tennis Canada