Ontario is on the national podium again.
Team Ontario finished second at Pickleball Canada’s 2026 Provincial Team Competition (PTC), held August 24–30 at Pickleplex Downsview as part of the 2026 IG Wealth Management National Championship presented by HearingLife. This is the PTC’s second year, and the first time it has been hosted in Ontario.
Seven provincial teams competed: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador. British Columbia successfully defended its title, Ontario claimed silver and Quebec finished third.
Team Ontario is divided into an Open division and a Masters (50+) division. Stephanie Kawamoto served as Captain of the Open team and Brad Matthews as Captain of the Masters team. Samir Bhatnagar, a seven-time national medallist and 2025 Team Ontario alum, served as Team Ontario’s Coach/Manager.
Meet the players who made us proud
Masters Division
- Men’s Doubles: Brad Matthews, Captain (Cambridge), and Mark Whittrick (Kitchener)
- Women’s Doubles: MJ Joostema (Waterloo) and Marylouise Millar (Hamilton)
- Mixed Doubles: Marie Aubie (Peterborough) and Steve Robinson
- Men’s Singles: Michael Arthur (Mississauga)
- Women’s Singles: Genya Stefanoff (Kanata)
- Alternates: Leanna Macdonnell (Guelph) and Dilesh Bhullar (St. Davids)
Open Division
- Men’s Doubles: Kyle Hermetz (Burlington) and Chad Valcour (Brockville)
- Women’s Doubles: Kaitlyn Poncelet (Aurora) and Michelle Li (Toronto)
- Mixed Doubles: Mark De Abreu (Ottawa) and Stephanie Kawamoto, Captain (Ottawa)
- Men’s Singles: Cole Lester (Peterborough)
- Women’s Singles: Michal Kaplan (Vaughan)
- Alternates: Drew Carrick (Guelph) and Katelyn Hack (LaSalle)
Congratulations to every member of Team Ontario for representing our province with skill, determination and pride!