British success at Australian Open inaugural Blind & Low Vision event & fourth Intellectual Disability Tennis Slam
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The 2026 Australian Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to integrate a Blind and Low Vision (BLV) invitational event as part of its official tournament program, with athletes from Great Britain shining in a team event that captured the imagination of spectators in Melbourne.
On a weekend when Elena Rybakina, Carlos Alcaraz and Britain’s Neal Skupski were among those who had a weekend to remember as they picked up titles in the opening Grand Slam of the year, it was also a special couple of days for the athletes competing in an event that saw Team Australia take on Team World in an event that was given the headline of the ‘Blind and Low Vision Showdown’.
Great Britain’s Naqi Rizvi was a star performer as he won all three of his matches in singles and doubles, while Ivan Rodriguez-Deb competed impressively in a match that was won 20-10 by the home team, with the result decided by the last two doubles matches on Sunday.
Louise Assioun, Great Britain’s VI Head Coach, took the lead as Team World’s Head Coach, with her compatriot, Sophie Hall, assisting as team manager.
Learn more about Visually Impaired and Learning Disability tennis
This event is about more than competition, it’s about visibility, opportunity and ensuring the Australian Open reflects the full diversity of the tennis community.
“Integrating a Blind and Low Vision event into the Australian Open is a powerful statement about where the sport is heading,” said Tennis Australia DE&I Pathways & Events Specialist, Ben Dew.
“This event is about more than competition, it’s about visibility, opportunity and ensuring the Australian Open reflects the full diversity of the tennis community.
“We’re so excited to welcome the world’s best blind and low vision athletes to the Australian Open, and are proud to lead the way in redefining what inclusion looks like at the highest level of the sport.”
Visually Impaired tennis (also known as VI tennis, Sound tennis or Blind tennis) is one of the leading sports for blind and partially sighted people in the UK. VI tennis was created in Japan in 1984 and has become popular across the world – it’s now played in more than 30 countries and has ambitions to become a future Paralympic sport.
This format of the game is different to traditional tennis as it is played on a smaller court with a lower net. Some courts also have tactile lines (B1 only) - so players can touch them - and players also use an audible tennis ball that makes noise so they can hear it bounce and being hit.
In addition to the Blind and Low Vision tournament in Melbourne, British athletes also produced some impressive displays in the Australian Open Intellectual Disability Tennis Slam.
This year marked the fourth edition of this event, organised in partnership with Virtus, the International Sports Federation for athletes with intellectual impairments.
Anna McBride was a star performer as she won the Women’s II1 Singles, beating Eva Blanc 6-2, 7-6(1) in the final before also winning the Doubles with her Australian partner Kelly Wren.
Fabrice Higgins was runner-up in the Men’s II1 Singles and lost out in the final of the Doubles with his British partner Dominic Iannotti.
The competition also included battling performances from British athletes Lily Mills, Adam Moody and Oliver Beadle.
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Find out more about Visually Impaired, Learning Disability and other forms of disability tennis and how you can get involved.
