Wheelchair tennis at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020: TV times, schedule, history, location and players
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Following the postponement of the Tokyo Paralympics due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the summer Games was moved to 2021.
Find out all you need to know about the wheelchair tennis events at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
When is the wheelchair tennis event at Tokyo 2020?
Following the postponement of the Tokyo Paralympics due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the summer Games was moved to 2021.
The wheelchair tennis events at this year’s Paralympic Games are set to take place between Friday 27 August and Saturday 4 September 2021.
Where is the wheelchair tennis event at Tokyo 2020 being held?
The hard courts of the Ariake Tennis Park will play host to the 2020 Paralympic wheelchair tennis tournament this summer.
The state-of-the-art site boasts 48 outdoor tennis courts including the Ariake Coliseum Centre Court – which is one of the few courts in the world to boast a retractable roof.
Which British players are competing in the wheelchair tennis event at Tokyo 2020?
Gordon Reid will be hoping to repeat his success at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, where he took home a gold medal in the men’s singles and silver in the doubles, alongside Alfie Hewett.
Hewett will have his sights set on winning his first Paralympic gold medal during the Tokyo games – the two-time silver medallist has been in fantastic form this season, having won the French Open singles title in May.
Joining the 2016 finalists in the men’s singles in Tokyo is Dermot Bailey, who will make his Paralympics debut at the 2020 Games.
As Great Britain’s most successful doubles team of all-time, Reid and Hewett will be the hot favourites for the gold medal this year. The pair have won seven Grand Slam doubles titles in a row – a record stretching back to 2019.
In the women’s singles, World No.4 Jordanne Whiley and Lucy Shuker are in pursuit of their first Paralympics singles medals. The pair will also join forces in the doubles event for the third time, after winning bronze in both 2012 and 2016.
One of Britain’s all-time most decorated wheelchair tennis Paralympians, Andy Lapthorne, will once again mount a serious medal challenge at this year’s Games in both the quad singles and doubles. Lapthorne will join Antony Cotterill in the doubles with ambitions of going for gold.
The draw
Here are the Brits opening round matches at the 2020 Paralympic Games:
Men's singles
- Dermot Bailey (GBR) v Daniel Caverzaschi (13) (ESP)
- Gordon Reid (5) (GBR) - Bye. Will face either Gustavo Carneiro Silva (BRA) or Leon Els (RSA) in the second round
- Alfie Hewett (2) (GBR) - Bye. Will face either Kamil Fabisiak (POL) or Suthi Khlongrua (THA) in the second round
Men's doubles
Alfie Hewett & Gordon Reid (1) (GBR) - Bye. Will face either Enrique Siscar Meseguer & Francesc Tur (ESP) or Thomas Flax and Nico Langmann (AUT) in the second round.
Women's singles
- Jordanne Whiley (4) (GBR) v Angelica Bernal (COL)
- Lucy Shuker (GBR) v Busra Un (TUR)
Women's doubles
- Lucy Shuker & Jordanne Whiley (2) (GBR) - Bye. Will face either Kgothatso Montjane & Mariska Venter (RSA) or Angelica Bernal & Johana Martinez (COL) in the second round.
Quad singles
- Antony Cottrill (GBR) v Heath Davidson (AUS)
- Andy Lapthorne (3) (GBR) v Robert Shaw (CAN)
Quad doubles
- Antony Cotterill & Andy Lapthorne v Kyu-Seung Kim and Myung Je Kim (KOR)
Get the full draw here.
Daily order of play and results
What is Britain’s history in tennis at the Paralympics?
Great Britain boasts a rich history in wheelchair tennis at the Paralympics. Since the first men’s and women’s tournaments were held at Barcelona in 1992, the Brits have won a total of 12 Paralympic medals, including three gold, five silver and four bronze medals.
Peter Norfolk was the first Brit to win a gold medal at the 2004 Games in Athens, defeating America’s David Wagner in the quad singles final. Norfolk also won silver in the quad doubles with Mark Eccleston and successfully defended his singles gold in Beijing in 2008.
Alongside Norfolk, Reid is Britain’s only other gold medallist, after he famously recorded a win over fellow Brit, Hewett in the final match in Rio.
In 2012, Whiley and Shuker became the first female British athletes to win wheelchair tennis medals, beating Thailand’s Sakhorn Khanthasit and Ratana Techamaneewat in an epic three-set bronze medal match. The pair repeated this feat in 2016, taking home another bronze in Rio.
Lapthorne has won two quad doubles medals with Norfolk and Jamie Burdekin – silver on his Paralympics debut in 2012 and bronze in 2016 – and just missed out on the gold in the quad singles in Rio, losing out to current World No.1 Dylan Alcott.
How to watch the Brits at the Tokyo Paralympics
For British viewers wanting to watch the ParalympicsGB stars in Tokyo, all coverage will be available live on Channel 4 and on demand across All 4.
