A Brief History of Wheelchair Tennis

Chances are, just about any sport one could imagine has a version performed by athletes using a wheelchair. These activities, whether done for recreation or competition, as generally known as adaptive sports. Many, such as wheelchair basketball, have been played for decades. However, some of the adaptive versions of full-contact sports such as football or rugby are newer on the scene.

Wheelchair tennis has been played for many decades, but it really gained a following in the late 1970s thanks to pioneer Brad Parks. His campaign to organize competitive wheelchair tennis groups went worldwide, and in 1988 the International Wheelchair Tennis Foundation was created with eight member nations. That same year, adaptive tennis was played as an exhibition sport at the Paralympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

After that demonstration, the popularity of wheelchair tennis really took off, and by the time the next Paralympics rolled around in 1992, it was an official competitive sport. New countries were joining the IWTF every year, and athletes created a system for donating used equipment to players in underprivileged nations.

Part of the worldwide love for wheelchair tennis is due to the fact that it requires almost no modification to the traditional format. Adaptive athletes use the same courts, balls and rackets as stand-up players; the only difference is that the ball is allowed to bounce twice instead of just once. The chairs players use have wheels tilted at an angle for speed and stability.

Today, there are adaptive tennis competitions as part of all stand-up tennis Grand Slam tournaments. In addition, the International Tennis Federation runs an adaptive-specific series of tournaments called the Super Series. Categories include men’s and women’s sections of singles and doubles as well as “quad,” which are mixed-sex matches for quadriplegics who may use electric wheelchairs. For players still developing their skills in the game, the futures tournament events allow them to move up in the rankings. The prize money awarded to winners of the Masters Series events are in the millions of dollars.

Many professional stand-up tennis players have joined adaptive athletes on the court, either as partners or as competitors. The sports of adaptive tennis also has its own roster of current and retired superstars, including Shingo Kunieda in men’s singles, Esther Vergeer in women’s singles and David Wagner in quads. These athletes serve as ambassadors for their sport and can be found signing autographs for young fans after tournaments. They encourage youths to get involved in the sport, even if it’s just for fun.

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