NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters returns to USA

Year-end tournament celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2018 26 Apr 2018
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a male and female wheelchair tennis player in action

Japan's Yui Kamiji and Shingo Kunieda won the Masters when it was last held in the US in 2013

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By ITF

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced that the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters will be held this year at the USTA National Campus at Lake Nona, Orlando, Florida, for the first time.

The ITF’s official year-end singles championship on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, which was held in Great Britain the last four years, will take place between 28 November and 2 December. This year’s event also celebrates a notable landmark as it will be the 25th edition.

It will be the second time in six years that the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, which features the top eight men, top eight women and top six quad players, will be held in the USA after Mission Viejo, Southern California, staged the prestigious event in 2013.

"We could not be more excited to once again be hosting the world's best wheelchair players on American soil for the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters,” said Katrina Adams, USTA Chairman of the Board and President.

“The USTA National Campus will provide the perfect venue for these world class athletes as they all look to win the prestigious end of year championship. The Orlando community and especially Lake Nona have shown great support for the various types of events that have taken place at the campus and these athletes will be sure to feel it as well."

ITF President David Haggerty said: “The ITF is delighted that the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters is moving to a new home at the USTA National Campus at Lake Nona for 2018. Since opening in 2017, this superb facility has already hosted several other ITF events and I’m sure that the 2018 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters will be another tremendous occasion, not least because the ITF’s year-end wheelchair tennis championship is celebrating its 25th year.”

The inaugural NEC Masters was held in Eindhoven in 1994. The tournament remained in the Netherlands, staged also in Amersfoort and Amsterdam, until 2010, before being staged in Mechelen, Belgium in 2011 and 2012.