LTA announces bigger and better disability tennis calendar in 2026

In the 50th anniversary year of the invention of wheelchair tennis, LTA investment in wheelchair tennis during the 2026 grass court season will increase by over 20%.  

The additional funding will enable an uplift in prize money for the wheelchair tennis tournament at the Lexus British Open Roehampton, and improved hospitality for players. Additional community activities at the Lexus British Open Roehampton, including a family fun day, will give the local community an opportunity to try wheelchair tennis.  

The bolstering of the Lexus British Open Roehampton comes in addition to a well-established wheelchair tennis grass court season calendar. ITF wheelchair men’s, women’s and quad draws are staged at the Lexus Eastbourne Open, wheelchair tennis exhibitions at the HSBC Championships at The Queen’s Club and the Lexus Nottingham Open. Men’s, women’s and quad draws take place at The Championships, Wimbledon.

The key improvements being brought in include:

Disability tennis from grass roots to grass courts – more disability competitions in 2026

The LTA has long invested in a year-round disability tennis competitions calendar to give disabled people and those with long-term health conditions a chance to compete in deaf, learning disability and autism, para standing, visually impaired, and wheelchair tennis.  

2026 will also see an uplift of nearly 25% of LTA funding for disability tennis competitions, with the aim to provide more opportunities to compete.  

Two additional ITF Junior Wheelchair Events will give aspiring young wheelchair tennis players the chance to compete for ranking points at three events on home soil – building the talent pathway to develop the stars of tomorrow.  

The increase in funding will see a Virtus sanctioned learning disability and autism tennis competition staged at the Lexus Nottingham Open for the first time, giving the Great Britain LD tennis team the opportunity to showcase their skills and earn international ranking points during one of the LTA’s major grass court tennis events.  

Visually impaired, para standing and deaf tennis will also see investment to showcase British talent in exhibitions and competitions in 2026. 

The visibility of disability tennis is of huge importance to the LTA, and we will increase the number of disability tennis competitions and work with partners to reach new audiences to achieve this. 

Accessible events for all

Off court the LTA is also doing more to make all its events more accessible and inclusive for all tennis fans.

Funded by the LTA Tennis Foundation, Community Integrated Care (CIC) are upskilling the tennis workforce through their Beyond Barriers training. Work is already underway with CIC to make all LTA grass court tennis events in Britain more accessible and welcoming for fans with accessibility needs.

This builds on progress made in 2025 to make LTA tennis events more accessible for those with hidden disabilities, when the LTA joined with the Sunflower to train all staff and volunteers to meet the needs of those with non-visible disabilities.

Scott Lloyd, LTA Chief Executive said,“The LTA’s vision is Tennis Opened Up. We believe it should be a sport for everyone – and that disabled people should not face additional barriers to playing tennis. 

“We’re proud to be investing more in our disability competitions this year, both in our highest profile wheelchair tennis event, but also in new learning disability and autism, visually impaired, para standing and deaf tennis events.  

“We are lucky to have very talented players in Britain in all these formats, including world champions and international gold medallists, and we are looking forward to supporting these formats of tennis with more events and opportunities to compete.

“We’re also doing more to ensure all LTA events are fully accessible and welcoming to all supporters. We look forward to a great summer of tennis for all in 2026.”