Milos Raonic has won the Canadian male Player of the Year after finishing the year in the top 15 for the first time since 2016.
Raonic has claimed this award for the eighth time in the past ten years, losing to Denis Shapovalov in 2017 and 2019.
Raonic did not drop his serve en route to reaching the quarter final at the Australian Open. The Canadian star lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets after saving 14 of the 16 break points he faced.
After the ATP Tour resumed, Raonic beat two-time champion Andy Murray and saved one match point en route to reaching the final at the Western and Southern Open in New York before losing to Novak Djokovic in three sets. It was Raonic’s first Masters 1000 final since Indian Wells 2016.
Raonic reached the semifinal in St. Petersburg and Paris Bercy. He lost to eventual champion Danil Medvedev in the Paris Rolex Masters semifinal.
Raonic will be looking to return to the top 10 of the ATP Ranking for the first time since August 2017.
Eighteen-year-old Leylah Annie Fernandez won the Female Player of the year award. Fernandez, who reached the Australian Open Junior final in 2019 losing to Clara Tauson, improved her ranking by 120 positions in 2020 ending the year at world number 88 in the WTA Ranking. The Canadian teenager made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open, where she lost to Lauren Davis in the first round. She scored the biggest win of her career in the Fed Cup qualifying round against Belinda Bencic.
Fernandez lost to Heather Watson in three sets in the Acapulco final. A week later she upset Grand Slam champion Sloane Stephens to reach the quarter finals in the Monterrey Open, before losing to eventual champion Elina Svitolina. Fernandez reached the Roland Garros third round.
“We would like to offer sincere congratulations to all of the recipients of this year’s Tennis Canada Excellence Awards. 2020 has been a trying year, which saw the tennis season come to halt for a few months, bringing tournaments to a standstill. While not all the players were able to make a return to the court, notably our junior, senior or wheelchair players, our players competing on the professional tour managed to put together some impressive performances. It was a very close in the men’s category, as both Milos and Denis had stellar seasons. The recognition for their efforts throughout the year is well deserved. On the women’s side, 2020 was a breakout season for Leylah, as she made waves on the professional tour and proved that she can compete with the best players in the world despite her young age. Vasek and Gaby als continued to progress this past year, bringing their level to new heights. After getting through such a tough year, our players are ready to take on anything that 2021 can bring their way”, said Michael Downey, Tennis President and Chief Executive Officer.