HIGH ACHIEVERS: Zenio Arnone becomes Elmdale Tennis Club’s youngest men’s singles club champion in 88-year history

By Martin Cleary

When the original men’s singles draw was released for the club championship at the Elmdale Tennis Club, Zenio Arnone wasn’t among the seeded players.

But when a few club members noticed Arnone, 20, wasn’t in that elite group, they suggested to the tournament director that the former accomplished junior player should seriously be considered for a berth.

After a stellar junior career in Ottawa and the region with 35 championship trophies and 20 medals, Arnone has become more selective about tournament play in the past two years because of school and employment commitments.

Before the Elmdale club championship, Arnone had only played one tournament this year. At the Elmdale Open this summer, he was eliminated in the third round of men’s singles by Vlad Pirusca, who is considered the top men’s singles player in Ottawa having won the NCTA men’s singles titles in 2024 and 2023.

After the Elmdale Tennis Club championships tournament director reviewed Arnone’s past results, he promoted him to the No. 1 seed.

And the left-handed Arnone lived up to the tournament director’s seeding adjustment in commanding fashion, winning the Elmdale men’s singles championship without losing a set and dropping only 12 games in 10 sets.

In the championship match on the evening of Friday, Sept. 19, Arnone held off club favourite Phil Mach 6-2, 6-3. Arnone reached the final defeating Garret McConville 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals, Bill McEachern 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals, Leo Keenan 6-0, 6-0 in the round of 16 and Paul Brenner 6-1, 6-0 in the round of 32.

Arnone was told he was the youngest player to win the men’s singles club championship. The Elmdale Tennis Club opened in 1937.

“It felt good, especially since I work there,” Arnone, who is a front-of-the-house steward at the club, said in a telephone interview on Thursday. “It felt nice to prove to the people how good I am. Now, I’ll be respected as a tennis player. I still feel I have it in me.

“Phil’s a very good player, a hard hitter, a big guy and strong. In the second set, he was winning, but I turned it on and hit better shots.”

Two years out of junior, Arnone spent more than a decade chasing tournaments, winning and losing matches and titles, but always developing his game.

He won his first championship at the former Ottawa Athletic Club in the boys’ U12 division, after six years of some wins, but many losses. At one point in his career, his progression took him to a ranking of No. 3 among National Capital Tennis Association juniors.

What Arnone considers his two greatest tournament achievements came in his final junior season, when he won the boys’ U18 singles titles at Quebec competitions in Mont Tremblant and Drummondville.

“I came into (Drummondville) unranked. No one knew me. I beat the No. 10 Quebec player and it was the biggest tournament for Quebec players,” Arnone recalled. “They (fans) were all cheering against me and that gave me the passion and fire to play harder and beat everyone.”

A part-time city employee for the City of Ottawa, he has shifted his focus in tennis to being a certified tennis instructor at the City View Tennis Club, Carleton University and the Lexington Park public courts.

Arnone considered chasing the dream of being a professional player on the lower circuits, but it didn’t feel right as he left junior. He said he hasn’t closed the door to travelling that path.

“I tried it, but it’s very tough and very competitive,” he explained. “It was hard to keep up with practices, especially when I was going to school and having many, many jobs.”

Arnone is a graduate of the recreation, leisure and sports management program at Algonquin College.

Shortly after Arnone started working as a steward at the Elmdale club, members were encouraging him to play in the club championships.

“A lot of members said I should go in the tournament and see how it goes,” Arnone said. “They knew I played, but didn’t know at what level.”

By winning the Elmdale men’s singles club championship, Arnone is upbeat about playing more tournaments in 2026.

“I want to keep my win streak going,” he added.

ALGONQUIN WOLVES SOCCER TEAMS REACH OCAA QUARTERFINALS

Basil Phillips of the Algonquin College Wolves was named Thursday as the East Division women’s soccer coach of the year by the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association.

Phillips added 10 rookie players to his roster for this season, which saw the Wolves finish the regular season in second place with a 9-1 record.

Algonquin also placed four players on the OCAA first all-star team: Alex Aubin of Long Sault, ON, Olivia Bradley of Almonte, Kassandra Da Cruz of Ottawa, and Paige King of Munster.

The five-player OCAA all-rookie team included Ashley Woodcock of Amherstview, ON.

Meanwhile, the Wolves women’s and men’s soccer teams will continue down the OCAA playoff pathway with a home doubleheader on Saturday at noon and 3 p.m. respectively.

The No. 3-ranked Wolves women’s team will face the No. 6-ranked Humber Hawks in the quarterfinals, after defeating the Fanshawe College Falcons 4-0 on Wednesday. Aubin scored three goals and assisted on the other by Danika Mader. Mallory Armstrong counted two assists, while King earned a three-save shutout in goal.

The No. 2-ranked Algonquin men’s squad will meet the No. 8-ranked Sheridan College Bruins, following its 4-1 first-round playoff win over Fanshawe. Alix Basa contributed on the first three goals by scoring one and assisting on the other two. Alessandro Vivolo, Gershom Dupuy and Mohammed Mechem also scored for the Wolves.

GEE-GEES WOMEN, RAVENS MEN REACH OUA SOCCER QUARTERFINALS

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees have advanced to the OUA women’s soccer quarterfinals, after defeating the Carleton University Ravens 2-0 on Wednesday.

Nibo Dlamini gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at the nine-minute mark and Sabrina Mangiaracina added the insurance marker at the 59th minute. Julian Lacasse made five saves for the Gee-Gees’ shutout.

Ottawa, which was third in the East at 9-3-1, will meet the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, who were second in the East at 9-2-1, on the road Saturday at noon.

The Carleton University Ravens men’s soccer team also moved into the OUA quarterfinals with a 3-1 decision over the Trent University Excalibur.

Caden Tomy and Marek Achadinha scored for the Ravens at the 15th- and 20th-minute marks respectively before Oliver Parratt countered for Trent. Mohammed Bouzidi scored the Ravens’ final goal off a pass from Tomy.

On Saturday, Carleton, which was third in the OUA East at 7-1-5, will meet Toronto Metropolitan University Bold, who were second in the East at 8-1-3, in a men’s OUA quarterfinal at 7 p.m. in Toronto.