On Tuesday, Sharon Fichman (Toronto, ON) formally introduced her retirement from skilled tennis on the age of 34 to take up a training place with Tennis Canada. After spending the previous couple of years away from the court docket as a consequence of accidents, Fichman ends her profession with 27 titles – 18 in doubles and 9 in singles – and a career-high rating of No. 21 in doubles and No. 77 on the singles circuit.
As a junior, Fichman reached a rating of No. 5 on this planet, notably successful 5 nationwide tennis championships and two Junior Grand Slams in doubles. She ultimately turned professional in 2009 and made an instantaneous impression, reaching her first WTA Tour-level ultimate on the Portugal Open in doubles and successful two ITF $25,000 occasions in singles that 12 months. She gained her largest singles title in 2014 at an ITF W100 in France and earned her highest singles rating of 77th the next week.
After taking a break from tennis in 2016-2017, Fichman returned to the skilled circuit in 2018, specializing in doubles, and made an excellent greater footprint on Tour. She gained titles at WTA occasions in Latvia and Mexico, earlier than successful her finest profession title in 2021 on the Italian Open – a WTA 1000 event – alongside her Mexican companion Giuliana Olmos. That very same 12 months, Fichman completed one in every of her largest profession objectives, donning the Maple Leaf on the Summer time Olympics in Tokyo with Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski in doubles. Fichman concluded her 2021 season on the WTA Finals with companion Olmos, the place she contested her last-ever match.
Past her success on the WTA Tour, Fichman has been a stalwart of the Canadian girls’s group, enjoying for 11 years on the Billie Jean King Cup – the second most of any Canadian. She made a successful debut in 2005 at simply 14 years outdated, claiming her match in opposition to Paraguay 6-1, 6-2 to assist Canada attain the Americas Play-Offs. The Torontonian went on to win 24 matches on the Billie Jean King Cup, rating her fourth all-time amongst her compatriots.
“I liked enjoying for Canada – I at all times confirmed up for Canada at any time when I used to be requested,” stated Fichman. “I liked competing in Canada, and I at all times had actually good outcomes competing at residence and it was at all times such an amazing expertise. It was such a privilege and an honour.”
COACHING THE NEXT GENERATION
Following her ultimate match, Fichman joined the Granite Membership in a training position, in addition to Tennis Canada to teach on the Regional Tennis Centre in Toronto and as a touring coach, travelling internationally with Canada’s prime junior gamers. She was additionally named captain of the 2024 Junior Bille Jean King Junior Cup group, qualifying for the spherical robin of the Finals in her first 12 months behind the bench. This represented a full-circle second for Fichman, who beforehand gained a silver medal for Workforce Canada on the occasion in 2004.
“It’s actually nice to be concerned on the Regional Coaching Centre, the children are superior,” added Fichman. “And on the identical time, I’m doing excursions with that very same age group. I really feel like I’m getting quite a lot of expertise working with totally different individuals, totally different age teams, totally different gamers at totally different factors of their profession. It’s serving to me quite a bit as a coach and in addition preserving issues actually enjoyable, recent, and fascinating.”
Fichman is likely one of the many ladies coaches who’ve joined the Canadian tennis panorama in recent times, as gender parity in management roles continues to enhance. As a part of the Girls Main pillar of Tennis Canada’s Sport. Set. Fairness. (GSE) dedication in partnership with Nationwide Financial institution, the target is to extend the variety of lively girls coaches within the nation to 40 per cent by 2027. As such, funding from the dedication is immediately supporting alternatives for Fichman in her improvement and training profession.
“On behalf of your complete group, I need to prolong my warmest needs to Sharon [Fichman] on her retirement from skilled tennis,” stated Guillaume Marx, Vice President of Excessive Efficiency at Tennis Canada. “Sharon’s super ability, management, and most significantly her dedication to the game have made an enormous mark on Canadian tennis and served as an inspiration to many. We’re extraordinarily fortunate to have the chance to proceed working with Sharon at Tennis Canada as she has joined us in a training position to assist us be sure that we now have extra Olympians, WTA Finalists, and WTA 1000 champions sooner or later, similar to her.”
Off the court docket, Fichman is an envoy of the GSE dedication and is a key member of Tennis Canada’s Psychological Well being and Wellness Technique Activity Power. She will be able to often be discovered within the Sportsnet broadcast sales space, overlaying the Billie Jean King Cup and Nationwide Financial institution Open offered by Rogers.
