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Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis London 2012

Approximately 35 years after it was invented in the USA, Wheelchair Tennis remains one of the fastest-growing wheelchair sports in the world.

Did you know?

The ITF organises the annual equivalent to the Davis and Fed Cups for Wheelchair Tennis: the Invacare World Team Cup.

There are more than 120 tournaments on the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour worldwide.

A weekly ranking list is published on the ITF website.

Key facts

Venue: Olympic Park - Eton Manor
Dates: Saturday 1 September –Saturday 8 September 2012
Medal events: 6
Athletes: 112

Wheelchair Tennis was invented in 1976 by Brad Parks, who had been experimenting with tennis as a recreational therapy after he was injured in a freestyle skiing competition. Since these humble beginnings, Wheelchair Tennis has grown at an amazing rate: now fully integrated into all four Grand Slam Tennis events, and with more than 150 tournaments on the ITF’s own Wheelchair Tennis Tour, it is more popular than ever.

The basics

The sport follows similar rules to Tennis, with one key exception: the ball is allowed to bounce twice, and only the first bounce must be within the boundaries of the court. All matches are played over the best of three sets.

At London 2012, the Wheelchair Tennis competition will consist of six medal events: men’s and women’s Singles; men’s and women’s Doubles; and quad Singles and Doubles, which are for players with a disability in three or more limbs. All events are played according to a knockout format.

Wheelchair Tennis at the Paralympic Games, past and present

After featuring as an exhibition sport at the Seoul 1988 Paralympic Games, Wheelchair Tennis was introduced as a full medal event at Barcelona in 1992, and has featured at every Games since then. At London 2012, the Wheelchair Tennis events will be played at Eton Manor, a brand new venue in the Olympic Park.

Jargon buster

- Ace: A legal serve that the opposing player fails to touch with their racket.
- Baseline: The far boundary line at either end of the court.
- Lob: A ball hit high in the air, usually deep into the opponent's court.
- Love: No points; zero.
- Tie-break: If the score in games reaches 6-6 in anything other than the deciding set, there is a tie-break, won by the first player or doubles team to reach seven points with a margin of at least two clear points.

Get involved

Wheelchair Tennis is a fast-growing participation sport in the UK. Find out how to get started by visiting the Tennis Foundation website as well as the Active Places website, which can help you find a court near you. Learn more about how to get involved on the Parasport website. The International Tennis Federation, the international governing body, is another good resource.