Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals: World’s best battle it out at home

This event is always a highlight of the domestic calendar of LTA regional events for players who have various degrees of sight loss, with categories ranging from B1-5.

After some inspiring performances secured a haul of medals for Great Britain at the Blind Tennis Association (IBTA) World Championships in Lithuania last month, many of the players who competed in that event gathered in Sunderland for another shot at glory.

Middlesex’s Naqi Rizvi highlighted his qualities once again as he backed up his gold medal performance at the World Championships with victory in the B1 Men’s Singles, beating Nottinghamshire Gavin Griffiths 4-3, 4-1 in the final.

Rizvi then teamed up with Tracy Compton from Surrey to win the B1 Doubles title, as they beat Durham & Cleveland’s Anthony Harrison and Sidney Tambin in a tightly contested final.

Compton, who was also a gold medalist at this year’s World Championships, could not make it a double success in Sunderland, as she lost the final of the B1 Women’s Singles against Warwickshire’s Yvette Priestley.

In the B3 Men’s Singles, there was more success for Lancashire’s Lucas McClay, who followed up his bronze medal at the World Championships by winning all four of his matches to take the National title for a third successive year. 

McClay was also victorious in the B2-5 Men’s Doubles final, as he teamed up with Buckinghamshire’s Ewan Hayward to take the title. 

It was a tournament to cherish for Nottinghamshire’s Phillip Hancock, as he claimed victory in a thrilling B2 Men’s final, beating Wiltshire’s Chris Hunt Skelley 4-1, 3-4, 10-8 in one of the most competitive matches of the tournament. 

In the men’s B4/5 event, there was success for the experienced Ivan Rodriguez Deb from Hertfordshire, who won the final against Avon’s Thomas Mills without dropping a game.

Bethan Jones was a fine winner of the B2 Women’s Singles after she beat fellow Yorkshire player Janiece Wallace in the final, with Scotland West’s Andrea Logan taking the B3 Women’s Singles title and Yorkshire’s Lydia Wrightson lifting the title in the B4/5 tournament, with Logan and Wrightson teaming up to win the B2-5 Women’s Doubles event.  

Louise Hunt, Tournament Director, said: “It was a genuine honour to be Tournament Director for the VI Nationals in Sunderland. I was hugely impressed by the standard of play throughout the tournament, but even more so by the passion, determination and spirit shown by everyone who competed.

“The Sunderland Tennis Centre provided a fantastic setting for what was a brilliant event. I also couldn’t have asked for a better team around me, as their professionalism, energy and commitment played a huge part in making the tournament such a success.

“It was a privilege to see so many talented VI players competing and enjoying the sport. There are some incredibly exciting players coming through, and I’m really looking forward to following their progress and seeing where their journeys take them.

“I came away from Sunderland feeling incredibly positive about the future of VI tennis, and very proud to have played a part in such a memorable tournament.”

The format of visually impaired (VI) tennis varies based on the set sight categories that the players compete within. Depending on a player’s category, they may have up to three bounces of the ball before they return it to their opponent.  

In the B1 category, for those having the greatest degree of sight loss or no sight, three bounces of the ball are allowed, and players typically wear eye masks.  

The B2, B3, B4 and B5 categories are contested by players with different degrees of partial sight, with B2 players allowed three bounces, B3 players allowed two bounces and B4 and B5 players allowed one bounce of the ball.  

VI tennis is open to players of all ages, experience, fitness levels and abilities who have a visual impairment.