Canada wins first Olympic tennis medal in 24 years

Canada is back on the Olympic tennis podium.

The country added to its growing medal count at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Friday with a third-place finish in mixed doubles tennis. Félix Auger-Aliassime and Gaby Dabrowski secured the victory against the Netherlands’ Demi Schuurs and Wesley Koolhof in a thrilling bronze medal match display.

The Canadian duo rebounded from a tough semifinal loss to the Czech pair Tomas Machac and Katerina Siniakova on Thursday. Despite their busy schedules, which have often included multiple matches on the same day, Auger-Aliassime and Dabrowski played with determination, taking the win in straight sets (6-3, 7-6).

Dabrowski, 32, scored the winning point in a nail-biting tiebreak sequence.

This marks Canada’s second-ever Olympic tennis medal. They earned their first in the 2000 Sydney Games, when Sébastien Lareau and Daniel Nestor won gold in men’s doubles.

As for Auger-Aliassime, his work on the Olympic circuit isn’t done yet. After losing the men’s singles semifinal against No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz this morning, he will play for another bronze on Saturday at 6 am ET/3 am PT.

His opponent will be the loser of Friday’s semifinal match between Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti.

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