The spread of the Coronavirus prompted the cancellation and the postponement of most of the major events all over the world. Soccer leagues are suspended, the tennis tours are frozen, and Euro 2020 has been postponed to 2021. Many asked to postpone also the Olympic Games that are supposed to start by the 24th of July in Tokyo this year, but so far, no decision was made. Eventually, Team Canada officialized their withdrawal with the following statement and therefore Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger Aliassime and Bianca Andreescu will not play the Games (at least this year).
This was the statement
“The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), backed by their Athletes’ Commissions, National Sports Organizations and the Government of Canada, have made the difficult decision to not send Canadian teams to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020.
The COC and CPC urgently call on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to postpone the Games for one year and we offer them our full support in helping navigate all the complexities that rescheduling the Games will bring. While we recognize the inherent complexities around a postponement, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our athletes and the world community.
This is not solely about athlete health – it is about public health. With COVID-19 and the associated risks, it is not safe for our athletes, and the health and safety of their families and the broader Canadian community for athletes to continue training towards these Games. In fact, it runs counter to the public health advice which we urge all Canadians to follow.
The COC and CPC reviewed the letter and news release sent Sunday by the IOC. We are thankful to the IOC for its assurance that it will not be cancelling the Tokyo 2020 Games and appreciative that it understands the importance of accelerating its decision-making regarding a possible postponement.
We also applaud the IOC for acknowledging that safeguarding the health and wellness of nations and containing the virus must be our paramount concern. We are in the midst of a global health crisis that is far more significant than sport.
The COC and CPC would like to thank our athletes, partners and the Canadian sport community for their patience and for lending us their voices during these unprecedented times. We remain hopeful that the IOC and IPC will agree with the decision to postpone the Games as a part of our collective responsibility to protect our communities and work to contain the spread of the virus.”
Denis Shapovalov’s ranking and performance in 2020
Now ranked no.16, Denis played his last match on the 21st of February when he surrendered to Alexander Bublik 7-5 4-6 6-3 in the quarter in Marseille.
Felix Auger Aliassime’s ranking and performance in 2020
Now ranked no.20, Felix played his last match on the 26th of February when he lost to Kyle Edmund 6-4 6-4 in the 2nd round in Acapulco.
Felix Auger Aliassime’s most significant result of the year was getting to the final in Rotterdam and Marseille.
Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger Aliassime played each other 3 times. The head to head is 2-1 for Shapovalov. The last time that they played, Denis Shapovalov won 6-1 6-1 6-4 in the 1st round in New York (U.S. Open) in August 2019.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
Bianca Vanessa Andreescu’s ranking and performance in 2020
Now the world no.6, the Canadian played her last match on the 30th of October 2019 when she had to retire when playing against Karolina Pliskova in the round robin and the scoreline was 6-3 .
