Anyone for Wheelchair Tennis? Enjoy an introduction to playing wheelchair tennis from Paralympic legends Peter Norfolk and Ade Adepitan. Read a transcript of the video here (word, 39 KB, opens in new window)
One of the fastest growing wheelchair sports in the world, wheelchair tennis integrates very easily with the non-disabled game since it can be played on any regular tennis court, with no modifications to rackets or balls. Wheelchair tennis players are allowed two bounces of the ball and therefore can play against other wheelchair tennis players, and alongside or against non-disabled friends and family.
Wheelchair tennis has been a Paralympic sport since Atlanta in 1996 and a quad division was introduced in 2004 for players with limited mobility in one of their upper limbs too. The Tennis Foundation is committed to growing participation along with a number of partners including the Lawn Tennis Association, Sport England and the English Federation of Disability Sport.
The Tennis Foundation is supporting tennis venues to become fully accessible so that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy playing the game.
To find a local tennis venue that provides wheelchair tennis sessions near you please visit the allplay tennis website.
We are always looking for the next stars on the wheelchair tennis tour and our Talent ID system looks to find promising talent from juniors all the way through to people who have acquired a disability later in life. Find out more on our Talent ID page here.
You can get started in a day chair to become used to being on court and hitting a ball from your chair. But you will find movement around the court improves when using a tennis chair as they are specifically designed for that purpose with an anti-tip wheel at the back and the side wheels being on an angle to help with changing direction.
The weight of the chair, size and positioning of the seat, backrest and footplates can all be adjusted to suit the needs of the player. The Tennis Foundation is working with the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust to provide tennis chairs to venues across the country. Please contact the Tennis Foundation through the button on the right if you would like more information on where to get a chair and get started in the sport.
The Championships, Wimbledon, Grand Slam6 - 8 JulyBritish Open Championships, Super Series, Nottingham16 - 21 JulyCardiff Tournament, ITF Futures11 - 13 OctoberNottingham Indoors, ITF 123 - 27 October
Find out what happened at a recent wheelchair tennis camp where lots of players had their first taste of the sport
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Find out more about tennis for wheelchair players