Wheelchair tennis player Rob Shaw climbs to world No. 8 with two straight tournament wins

GENEVA – In this week’s world rankings released Monday, Rob Shaw of North Bay, Ont. has climbed to No. 8 in the wheelchair quad division following his first career ITF Series 1 victory on Sunday at the Swiss Open.

Shaw, who was a career high No. 6 in January 2023, is also preparing for his second straight Paralympic Games which runs from August 28 to September 8 in Paris. He was nominated to the team last week.

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At the Swiss Open, the 34-year-old Shaw opened the tournament with a straight sets win over Gregory Slade of Great Britain, then eliminated Colombian Daniel Alejandro Campaz Escobar to advance to the semis.

In the final four, Shaw beat three-time Paralympic Games champion David Wagner of the U.S. 6-3, 7-6. It was Wagner who Shaw beat to win the gold medal at the 2019 Parapan Am Games, the first time a Canadian won a singles tournament at a major Games.

Shaw needed three sets to beat arch-rival Francisco Cayulef of Chile 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 for the title. Cayulef beat Shaw for gold at the 2023 Parapan Ams but this was the second straight week the Canadian prevailed. Shaw won the ITF Series 2 German Open on July 14.

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Shaw started the month at number-10 moved up one notch after his win in Berlin and is now eighth.

In Geneva, Shaw also won the quad doubles, combining forces with Wagner.

The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will begin with the Opening Ceremony on August 28 and continue through September 8. Audiences can tune in for CBC/Radio-Canada’s coverage of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8 on CBC, CBC Gem, CBC’s Paris 2024 website (cbc.ca/paris2024) and the CBC Paris 2024 app in English and on ICI TÉLÉ, ICI TOU.TV, Radio-Canada.ca/paris2024, and on the Radio-Canada Paralympiques app in French.