Ben Bartram awarded wild card for 2023 Australian Open
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Ben Bartram’s ground-breaking wheelchair tennis season is ending on yet another career-first after the 17-year-old from Norfolk was awarded one of two wild cards for the men’s wheelchair events at the 2023 Australian Open.
2022 has seen Bartram transition from a successful junior career to claiming six senior singles titles since June. Supported by our Pro Scholarship Programme (PSP) for wheelchair tennis players, Bartram has improved his senior men’s singles world ranking by 45 places in 2022 and reached a career-best No.16 in August.
Despite narrowly missing the cut for the men’s singles at this year’s US Open, Bartram still went to New York to contest the first ever junior wheelchair tennis Grand Slam, winning both the US Open boys’ singles and doubles titles.
It’s been a very special year for me and to end it with a wild card for the Australian Open is all I could have wished for.
Recently named among the top 10 shortlisted athletes for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award, current world No. 19 Bartram said: “It’s been a very special year for me and to end it with a wild card for the Australian Open is all I could have wished for. I’m very grateful.
"After winning the junior title at the US Open and being so close to automatic qualification for a place in the men’s main draw I’ve deliberately worked towards trying to secure a place among the entries for Australia and I’m now training hard to be able to make the most of this opportunity to make my senior Grand Slam debut.”
Bartram joins Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid in the men’s draw for the 2023 Australian Open, with all three players joining Lucy Shuker and Andy Lapthorne in preparing for the first major of the year by contesting the Victorian Open and the Melbourne Open in mid-January.
