Wheelchair tennis at the Paralympics: History, rules & team selection
How long has wheelchair tennis been at the Paralympics?
Wheelchair tennis has been part of the Paralympic Games since 1988 in Seoul, when it featured as a demonstration sport with a women’s and men’s singles event.
It became an official sport during the 1992 Games in Barcelona, which introduced women’s and men’s singles and doubles competitions.
At the 2004 Athens Games, quad singles and doubles events were brought in for the first time – creating the six-event discipline we know today, including:
- Women’s singles
- Men’s singles
- Quad singles
- Women’s doubles
- Men’s doubles
- Quad doubles
How does Paralympic tennis work?
Like the tour-level and Grand Slam tournaments, the wheelchair tennis events at the Paralympics are straight knock-out competitions.
The winners of the semi-finals will go on to the gold medal match, while the losers play again in a bronze medal match.
Wheelchair tennis at the Paralympics can be played on any surface depending on the venue it’s hosted at. At the 2024 Paris Games it will be held on the clay courts of Roland Garros – home to the French Open.
How many sets are there in wheelchair tennis?
So, what are the wheelchair tennis rules when it comes to sets and scoring?
All wheelchair tennis matches are played as best-of-three sets. In singles, players can contest up to three full tie-break sets. In doubles, the first two sets are standard, but the deciding set is played as a match tie-break (first to 10 points).
How do wheelchair tennis players qualify for the Paralympics?
Players are selected by national sporting bodies.
Each nation can only select a set number of players for each event:
- Four women’s and men’s players in the singles events
- Three quad singles players
- Two women’s and men’s doubles teams
- One quad doubles team
Eligible players must have been part of a World Team Cup squad and have an official ITF world ranking. For the 2024 Paris Games, the ranking cut off is from 14 July.
Players can gain direct acceptance based on their ranking, including:
- Top 32 men’s players
- Top 20 women’s players
- Top 12 quad players
The remaining selections are determined by the ITF and International Player Committee.
Selections for the 2024 Paris Games are still yet to be announced.
Great Britain’s history at the Paralympics
Great Britian have won 16 medals during the history of the Paralympics – the second most of any nation, only behind the Netherlands (51). Here’s the breakdown of the ParalympicsGB wheelchair tennis medals:
- Gold medals – 3
- Silver medals – 7
- Bronze medals – 6
Eight players have won medals for Great Britain in the wheelchair tennis events at the Paralympics, including:
|
Player |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
|
Peter Norfolk |
2 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
|
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
0 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
|
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
Mark Eccleston |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Jamie Burdekin |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |