Scottish wheelchair players compete for national title at Scotstoun

Wheelchair players gathered in Glasgow for a much-anticipated national event which once helped launch the careers of top Scottish stars Gordon Reid and Ellie Robertson.

 

Organised by Lesley Whitehead from Glasgow Disability Tennis, five players took to the indoor courts at Scotstoun for the Scotland Wheelchair Tennis Tournament as it made a return to the calendar following a year’s absence in 2024.

 

Making her competitive debut, Sarah Reilly took on Ruth Mutch for the women’s title, while Alan Kinnear, who was also new to national competition, joined a round-robin group in the men’s event alongside Lee Lower from Dumfries and Galloway and fellow Glaswegian Stephen Harvey. 

 

The first match of the day saw Stephen Harvey face the experienced Lee Lower. The match held a lot of promise with the powerful serving and forehands of Harvey matching up against the consistency and experience of Lower. 

 

As expected, the encounter was tightly contested with a number of hard-fought games, but Lower came up with the goods when needed to open his account with a 4-1, 4-2 victory. 

 

Taking the positives from his earlier loss, Harvey then faced his Glasgow Disability Tennis clubmate Alan Kinnear in the second match. 

 

Despite it being his debut, Kinnear showed no nerves against a familiar opponent. There were some exciting games, but in the end Harvey secured a strong win, winning 4-0, 4-0 to pick up his first competitive victory. 

 

It was all to play for in the final match as Kinnear faced Lower for the title. Lower came out of the blocks quickly, doing well to fend off the accurate, deep serves of Kinnear and take the first set 4-0.

 

The second set saw a thrilling battle with the pair going toe to toe, but Lower’s experience and consistency proved key as he secured the decisive break to win the match 4-0, 4-2 and pick up his first singles title. 

 

Lower said, “I wasn’t expecting it at all really. I thought maybe I’d win the odd game, but not both. Considering that I don’t play as often as I’d like to, to come here and play like that, I’m pretty chuffed to be honest.”

 

Harvey claimed the runners-up spot, with Kinnear winning bronze. 

 

It was an all-Glasgow affair for the women’s title as Ruth Mutch faced Sarah Reilly. As Glasgow Disability Tennis clubmates, Mutch and Reilly knew each other's games inside out, meaning the crowd would be in for a treat. 

 

As expected, a closely fought contest saw many games go to deuce, but in the end it was Reilly who managed to bank the crucial points to pick up a debut LTA title with a 4-1, 4-0 victory.

 

She said: “It feels fantastic. I wasn’t expecting that, so I’m dead chuffed that I won that one. I love the adrenaline you get from playing tennis and the skilfulness of working out where to put shots, plus it’s fun just to play with other people.”