KELOWNA– For Rob Shaw the wear and tear of being a professional wheelchair tennis player is a growing concern, but he’s determined to be on court for the Australian Open in January.
‘’I’m on the tail end of my career, that’s for sure,’’ said Shaw, who’ll turn 35 on December 6. ‘’For next season I would like to compete in as many Slams as possible. I’ve been on the circuit for 10 years and there are some goals I would like to tick off at this point.’’
While 2024 was a very successful season for Shaw, he has been dealing with shoulder pain and has for the meantime stored his racket in the locker room since his last match at the Paralympic Games on September 3, a quarterfinal loss to world No. 2 Niels Vink of the Netherlands.
‘’My health is my main priority and I want to be a healthy person after my competitive career is over,’’ said the 2019 Parapan Am Games champion currently ranked seventh in the world in the quad division. ‘’I basically need three months to heal and I’ve never had more than 10 days off before a tournament this whole 12 month period.’’
The first goal is to be back on court training in December before the 2025 season launches. Wheelchair events are held at all four Grand Slams: the Australian, French and U.S. Opens and Wimbledon along with numerous international tournaments around the world.
Last year Shaw played in 13 tournaments, down from his usual 18-20 due to the shoulder issues, and won two titles, the German Open and Swiss Open. He also collected five doubles titles including four with Australian Heath Davidson.
‘’The rehab is going well but it’s a slow process with the shoulder when you’re in a wheelchair,’’ admitted Shaw. ‘’ I’m just doing my best to give it the best opportunity to be healthy going into the New Year.’’ How the shoulder responds to this break will likely determine his future beyond 2025.
‘’Clearly, I’m still competitive in this sport based on my results this past season,” said Shaw. ‘’I can still compete with the top players. But at the same time my body is telling me: ‘Hey, you probably don’t have four more years of doing this.’”
In 2024, Shaw won the German Open defeating Francisco Cayulef of Chile. It was Cayulef who beat Shaw in the 2023 Parapan American Games final. Shaw beat Cayulef again to win the Swiss Open, Shaw’s first career victory on the ITF Series 1 circuit. ‘’Last season was tough to get through and I don’t want to grind myself down. I still have many years left on this planet and I want to enjoy them.’’
Source: https://paralympic.ca/news/