Brits excel at historic first Learning Disability Tournament at Lexus Nottingham Open

Spectators at the Nottingham Tennis Centre were treated to a new event that complemented the women’s tournament won by Marie Bouzkova from Czechia and the ATP Challenger event won by Australia’s Christopher O’Connell.

The tournament was sanctioned by Virtus, the international federation for athletes with intellectual impairments, and allowed players to gain valuable ranking points and valuable experience on one of the biggest stages in British tennis.

This tournament was made possible by a significant increase in LTA investment in disability tennis competitions, with an uplift of nearly 25% of LTA funding in 2026.

Competitive learning disability and autism tennis has three categories II1 – Intellectual Disability, II2 – Intellectual Disability and Significant Additional Impairment and II3 - Autism. 

The event in Nottingham was for players within the II1 classification and two outstanding champions were crowned in the singles events.

Scotland’s Anna McBride emerged as the strongest performer in the women’s tournament, as the top seed won the women’s singles tournament after a victory against No.2 seed Eva Blanc in the final. McBride also picked up the doubles title with partner Kelly Wren.

In the men’s singles tournament, top seed Archie Graham came through a series of competitive matches before winning the final against No.2 seed Fabrice Higgins.

In the men’s doubles, Lancashire’s Higgins teamed up with Essex’s Oliver Beadle to take the title, with the big crowds in Nottingham getting a chance to learn more about athletes who are playing high-quality tennis.

All of the players who competed in the tournament in Nottingham have an opportunity to play tennis through the LTA Open Court programme, a national scheme that actively promotes and delivers opportunities for disabled people to get involved in tennis and padel.

Learning disability includes conditions such as Down’s Syndrome, Asperger’s Syndrome, Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The LD&A tournament at the Nottingham Open was staged alongside wheelchair tournaments for women and men, with some familiar names coming out on top.

The decorated duo of Lucy Shuker and Andy Lapthorne won the singles events, with Lapthorne also winning the doubles alongside partner Greg Slade.

In the women’s doubles, Ruby Bishop and Cornelia Oosthuizen won the title, beating Shuker and partner Abbie Breakwell in the final.

This is another significant year for the wheelchair game in Britain, with the LTA’s investment in wheelchair tennis during the 2026 grass court season also increasing by over 20% in a year that marks the 50th anniversary of the invention of wheelchair tennis.

The LTA runs performance programmes for Learning Disability, Deaf, and Visually Impaired Tennis, while financial support is also given to elite Para Standing Tennis by the LTA – giving more players the chance to represent Great Britain on the international stage.

LTA Tournament Director, Rebecca Brook said, “We are incredibly proud to have hosted the first officially sanctioned Learning Disability tennis event as part of the British grass court summer at the Lexus Nottingham Open.

“With eight men and eight women competing, the event brought together some of the best British and international players during Learning Disability Awareness Week. It was fantastic to see that all players had such a brilliant time, with one describing the experience as a dream come true.

“Our aim was to boost the visibility of Learning Disability tennis showcasing the incredible talent at the top of the sport while also inspiring others who may have felt tennis wasn’t for them to get involved. The success of this tournament is a significant step forward in making the sport more inclusive and accessible for all.”