SUPER SENIORS AT THE WORLDS

The ITF Super Senior World Team and World Individual Championships were held in Umag Croatia Sept 21 to 26 and Sept 28 to Oct 3 respectively.

Several Ontario players represented Canada in the team events. Tim Griffin & John Payne (65s), John Tibbits & Shaheer Mikhail (70s), Guido Weber (75s), Lorne Main (80s), Mary Ann Gaskin & Coby Dommasch (65s). 

In the team events, the Canadian women’s over-65 team had the country’s best finishing position, placing eighth in the Kitty Godfree Cup. The best men’s finish for Team Canada was ninth in the over-70 Jack Crawford Cup. 

The Tennis Canada Seniors Committee decided not to send women’s teams in the 70, 75 and 80 age groups. Canada has been a great supporter of these women’s events in past years and encouraged new levels of competition to be introduced. For instance, Canada had won the women’s over 80 team event (the Doris Hart Cup) every year since its inception in 2011. The existence of senior teams and Canada’s active support of these events has been an inspiration and incentive for mature women to play and compete and there has been a corresponding increase in the number of entries at the Steve Stephens Senior Nationals. 

One of the women who was on all the triumphant Canadian over 80 women’s teams, Rosemarie Asch of Montreal, did make the trip to Croatia and swept the over-85 age category at the ITF Super Seniors World Individual Championships, claiming three gold medals. In women’s singles Rosie beat Monique Giffard of France, 6-0, 6-1 to claim the crown. Rosie won the over-85 women’s doubles title with Hungarian Erzsebet Szentirmay and the over-85 mixed doubles trophy with fellow Canadian Lorne Main (see photo).

Asch went a perfect 8-0, never losing a set all week and in fact dropping just 14 games in total. Asch, who will turn 85 in November, was playing in the over-85 age category for the first time. For the complete draws and results from the ITF Super Seniors World Individual Championships please visit www.itftennis.com/seniors 

Next year's Steve Stephens Senior Nationals (2016) will be held in Ottawa August 21 to 27. The next ITF World Team championships will be held in Croatia for the young seniors (O35,O40 & O45) May 1-6, 2016, in Helsinki, Finland for the senios (O50, O55 & O60) June 19 - 24, 2016 and in Antalya, Turkey for the Super Seniors (O65, O70, O75 & O80) Oct 16-21, 2016.  The individual championships for each group are played the following week.