No Canadian man or woman has won a singles grand slam. But the elusive singles title is coming to Canada.  It’s just a matter of time.

Though Tennis Canada doesn’t have the resources of the grand slam hosting countries like US, France, Australia or Great Britain, it has done an excellent job of recruiting and creating a pipeline of tennis players who could dominate the game for next 20-30 years.

But it wasn’t always riches for Canadian tennis.  In 2005, no Canadian man had ranked in the top 50 in 21 years.  Women fared slightly better but not enough to consistently win tournaments at the top level.

Things were so dire that at one point, ATP had threatened to pull the ATP Masters tournament (Canadian Open) because its facilities were not up to par. Cash strapped, Tennis Canada came up with a plan to revitalize its tennis program to keep up in an increasingly competitive sport.

It took a decade for the results to show up. In 2014, Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard were ranked in the Top 10 of the ATP and the WTA tour respectively. Canada was consistently in the World Group in Davis Cup and Fed Cup.  But it was only the beginning.

Raonic and Bouchard didn’t win a grand slam but both reached the Wimbledon final. But the other kids were coming along in Canada’s tennis program. Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Bianca Andreesu had considerable success in the juniors and are starting to shine on the professional tour.

How did Tennis Canada do it? How did a cash strapped country with limited tennis facilities become a force in tennis?

Money and Facilities

Tennis Canada CEO Michael Downey used his business skills to increase the cash flowing into the tennis program from two big tournaments hosted in Canada. From 2005 to 2015, that money tripled from $3 million to $9 million.

Tennis Canada opened a national tennis center for full-time residential coaching of  promising juniors. It hired Louis Borfiga, who led the junior national tennis program in France.

Hiring Right People and Focusing on Junior Player Development

Louis Borfiga

It lured the highly respected Louis Borfiga to be the Tennis Canada’s Vice President of High Performance & Athlete Development.  He previously ran the French Tennis Federation and worked with players such as o-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut during their junior years.

Bob Brett

As Boris Becker’s coach, Brett guided the German to Boris Becker to the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles.  Instead of assigning him to help the ATP professionals from Canada, Tennis Canada put him in charge of our Under-14 program. Brett was tasked with identifying word-class talent with high probability of success among the juniors.

Allow Players To Train Overseas

There are two distinct funding models for player development in tennis. A country like France that consistently produces top players identifies promising tennis players at a young age and takes them under its wing.  It shepherds these players through their junior playing years and ultimately into the professional tour, controlling every aspect of their tennis lives.

On the other hand, the US has many for-profit tennis academies such as the Bolletieri Academy.  Player development at the junior level is often left to parents and the tennis academies.  Once players show promise, the Unites States Tennis Association (USTA) provides the resources to ensure success at the professional level of the game.

Canada took a slightly different approach from the French Federation and the USTA.  While Tennis Canada funded the high performance players, it allowed them to to leave Canada to train.  Milos Raonic went to Spain with coach Galo Blanco at his 4Slam Tennis academy in Barcelona, and Eugenic Bouchard trained in Florida at the Nick Saviano Academy in Fort Lauderdale  (where Sloane Stephens also trained) under the guidance of Tennis Canada.

High Standards for Funding

Tennis Canada developed a development path for each player it identified and established criteria that players had to meet to gain and maintain funding.  This ensured that Canada was spending its resources wisely and getting a solid return on its investment.

Grand Slam Pursuit

With the right people and the right program in place, Canada waits for its first grand slam champion. It’s certainly coming.

CBD (cannabidiol) has arrived in tennis.  John Isner has signed tennis’ first CBD sponsorship. Isner announced his endorsement deal with Defy. Defy makes  performance drink infused with high quality hemp extract.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) permits the use of CBD in-competition, although all other cannabinoids are still prohibited in-competition. It’s important to understand  that CBD products may still contain other prohibited cannabinoid components, such as THC.  Athletes who use CBD are taking a big risk,  as according to anti-doping rules the athletes are strictly liable for any substance found in their blood or urine.

DEFY’s  product formulation is based on hydration, electrolytes, quick replacement of vital nutrients as well as taste. The 20mg/bottle provides the optimal amount of performance-spectrum CBD for individuals and athletes of all sizes.

CBD Improves Recovery Time

CBD works as an anti-inflammatory, and this is what makes it so useful to athletes.

Like most athletes, tennis players deal with stress to the body, and this is mostly seen in the form of inflammation and soreness. CBD  prevents inflammation through a complex network known as the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). CBD suppresses the elements that cause swelling and soreness.  In addition, CBD  releases more of the sleep hormone, melatonin, and with enhanced sleep comes faster recovery.

CBD Improves Performance

CBD improves performance by reducing anxiety and increasing focus. Athletes use CBD before competitions to  reduce anxiety and to improve performance. It has been shown to improve decision making in athletes, giving them a competitive edge.

CBD Effectively Treats Pain

Athletes’ joints and muscles develop pain temporarily due intense work outs almost every single day. Taking CBD before and after a workout reduces the impact that working out may have on the body, and reduces pain .

It is not clear how many of the top tennis players use CBD.  Players don’t discuss its use publicly as they don’t discuss data analytics or any other technology that gives them an edge on the tennis court.

We know that Novak Djokovic uses hyperbaric chamber to speed up recovery after long matches. We normally breathe in in 20% oxygen and under pressurized conditions, the chamber allows athletes to breathe in 100% oxygen and is very beneficial to the body.