Wheelchair Tennis: Then and now

Wheelchair Tennis started in the United States in the 1970s when an 18-year-old called Brad Parks – a former American freestyle skier who had been injured during a competition – teamed up with his therapist, Jeff Minnenbraker, to develop a game for wheelchair athletes.

The sport developed rapidly throughout the 1980s and in 1998 it was integrated into the International Tennis Federation, which governs all forms of Tennis.

It is still one of the fastest-growing wheelchair sports in the world.

How to play – and win

Wheelchair Tennis is split into six categories: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles; quad(s) singles and quad(s) doubles.

Normal rules of Tennis apply - the main exception is that the ball is allowed to bounce twice. The first bounce must be within the boundaries of the court, the second is allowed outside of the court. Matches are played over three tie-break sets.

Wheelchair Tennis at the Games

Wheelchair Tennis was an exhibition sport at the Seoul 1988 Paralympic Games, and was introduced as a full medal event in Barcelona in 1992.

Since then, the sport has developed rapidly and is played in more than 70 countries. At the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, a quad division was introduced for singles and doubles for the first time.

Facts about Wheelchair Tennis

• There are more than 120 tournaments on the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour worldwide.
• A weekly ranking list is published on the ITF website.
• The ITF organises the annual equivalent to the Davis and Fed Cups for Wheelchair Tennis: the Invacare World Team Cup.

Get involved

Wheelchair Tennis is a fast-growing participation sport in the UK, and British players are among the best in the world.

Find out how and where to get started by contacting The British Tennis Foundation (see 'related websites').