Shapovalov Named 2019 Tennis Canada Male Player Of The Year

Denis Shapovalov representing Canada at the Davis Cup Finals (photo: Mateo Villalba / Kosmos Tennis)

MONTREAL, December 20, 2019 (Tennis Canada Press Release)

Tennis Canada announced on Thursday that Denis Shapovalov was named Male Player of the YearSingles Player of the Year and Doubles Player of the Year. The other Excellence Award recipients for 2019 include Félix Auger-Aliassime who was named Most Improved Player and Liam Draxl as the Junior Player of the Year.

“Denis, Félix and Liam have all had productive seasons and fully deserve these awards,” said Michael Downey, President and CEO at Tennis Canada. “Several players made their mark in 2019, demonstrating the increasing depth that we have in Canadian tennis. Denis stood out from the rest, however, thanks to his successful fall season where he played outstanding tennis week after week, captured his maiden ATP title and defeated a number of elite ATP players to climb to no. 15 in the rankings. For his part, Félix experienced a meteoric rise and even if he did not manage to get his hands on his first ATP title, it is sure to happen very soon. At the junior level, Liam garnered a lot of attention by showcasing that he is among the Next Generation of players with a very bright future.”

Shapovalov has been named Male Player of the Year for the second time in his career, having earned this honour in 2017. The 20-year-old Ontario native, who began the year ranked at no. 27, managed to inch his way closer to the Top 10 by finishing the 2019 season at no. 15, a career best. During the fall, he took home his first ATP title at the Stockholm Open and reached his first Masters 1000 final in Paris after notably defeating Fabio Fognini, Alexander Zverev and Gaël Monfils. His success continued in Madrid where he led the Canadian team to their first ever appearance in the Davis Cup final. Earlier in the year, he also reached the semi-finals at the Miami Masters as well as the third round at both the Australian Open and the US Open.

If Shapovalov had a stellar year in singles, he also had a great amount of success in doubles which earns him the award for Doubles Player of the Year. Alongside partner Rohan Bopanna, he reached the doubles semi-finals at the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank in Montreal as well as the final of the ATP 250 event in Stuttgart. During the Davis Cup Finals, he also notched two crucial victories playing with Vasek Pospisil, to allow Canada to defeat Australia and Russia.

Auger-Aliassime and Draxl also honoured
After being named 2018 Junior Player of the Year, Auger-Aliassime has been chosen as the Most Improved Player for 2019. In fact, he made great strides throughout the last twelve months. After beginning the year ranked outside of the Top 100 (no. 106), he made his way all the way up to the no. 17 spot before finishing the season at no. 21. He came incredibly close to capturing his first ATP title, as he reached three finals – Rio, Lyon and Stuttgart. The 19-year-old Quebec native also went on a deep run at the Miami Masters, reaching the semi-finals.

For his part, Draxl had a lot of success on the junior circuit. Currently ranked at no. 18 in the ITF rankings, he broke into the Top 10 (no. 9) in May of this year. He also captured the second title of his career at the Grade 1 tournament in Carson, California and was a finalist in Roehampton, a preparation tournament before Wimbledon. It was at the Junior Australian Open and Junior US Open that he got his best Grand Slam results, reaching the third round. In doubles, he reached the final at Junior Wimbledon and the semi-finals at the Junior French Open.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Year Male Player of the Year Female Player of the Year
1982 Réjean Genois Marjorie Blackwood
1983 Glenn Michibata Carling Bassett
1984 Martin Wostenholme Carling Bassett
1985 Glenn Michibata Carling Bassett
1986 Andrew Sznajder Helen Kelesi
1987 Grant Connell Helen Kelesi
1988 Andrew Sznajder Jill Hetherington
1989 Andrew Sznajder Helen Kelesi
1990 Grant Connell Helen Kelesi
1991 Grant Connell Patricia Hy
1992 Grant Connell Patricia Hy
1993 Greg Rusedski Patricia Hy
1994 Sébastien Lareau Jana Nejedly
1995 Grant Connell Patricia Hy-Boulais
1996 Sébastien Lareau Patricia Hy-Boulais
1997 Daniel Nestor Patricia Hy-Boulais
1998 No record of award No record of award
1999 No record of award No record of award
2000 Daniel Nestor and Sébastien Lareau Sonya Jeyaseelan
2001 Daniel Nestor Jana Nejedly
2002 Frédéric Niemeyer Maureen Drake
2003 Daniel Nestor Maureen Drake
2004 Daniel Nestor Aleksandra Wozniak
2005 Daniel Nestor Stéphanie Dubois
2006 Frank Dancevic Aleksandra Wozniak
2007 Daniel Nestor Stéphanie Dubois
2008 Daniel Nestor Aleksandra Wozniak
2009 Daniel Nestor Aleksandra Wozniak
2010 Daniel Nestor Rebecca Marino
2011 Milos Raonic Rebecca Marino
2012 Milos Raonic Aleksandra Wozniak
2013 Milos Raonic Eugenie Bouchard
2014 Milos Raonic Eugenie Bouchard
2015 Milos Raonic Eugenie Bouchard
2016 Milos Raonic Eugenie Bouchard
2017 Denis Shapovalov Bianca Andreescu
2018 Milos Raonic Eugenie Bouchard
2019 Denis Shapovalov Bianca Andreescu