Ticket2Tokyo inspires new wheelchair tennis players

We’ve had a wonderful weekend of wheelchair tennis activity across all parts of the UK

Eighty budding wheelchair tennis players of all ages took to the courts across 11 venues around Great Britain, between 19-21 September, for the Tennis Foundation’s Ticket2Tokyo talent identification festivals.

Launched with support from the Lawn Tennis Association and UK Sport, Ticket2Tokyo aims to attract potential athletes with the desire and dedication to train to become elite para-athletes and compete for ParalympicsGB at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

British men’s No.1 and world No. 3 Gordon Reid was on hand to encourage and pass on tips to those being put through their paces in Glasgow, Scotland.

Jordanne Whiley, the first Brit to win all four doubles Grand Slam titles in a calendar year, after partnering Japan’s Yui Kamiji to win the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open titles, was also helping out around the country.

“We’ve had a wonderful weekend of wheelchair tennis activity across all parts of the UK and a broad age range of athletes taking to the courts, including players as young as five-years-old in Taunton,” said Ash Smith, the Tennis Foundation’s Performance Development Coach.

“Some had never played wheelchair tennis before and some are at the very early stages in their playing careers and we have identified a number of athletes that will be invited back to national event as part of working towards our performance pathway, while everyone will be encouraged to progress their talents and realise their potential through their regional Disability Tennis Networks supported by the Tennis Foundation.”

For more information, visit the Tennis Foundation website.