Wheelchair tennis is on the rise, its next move is integrating with more ATP, WTA events
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NEW YORK (AP) — All of the U.S. Open’s wheelchair champions have been crowned, to thunderous cheers from fans and supporters. Coming away from this year’s tournament, one thing is for sure — wheelchair tennis is on the rise.
In 2022, the men’s and women’s draws at the U.S. Open each doubled in size, from eight players apiece to 16. The quad division, for players with loss of function in at least three limbs, has doubled twice since 2020 and now sits at 16 players across singles and doubles.
It’s been on an upward trajectory in New York and worldwide. And now, more changes are coming to the wheelchair tour.
Starting next year, a “significant number” of wheelchair tournaments will be taking place alongside ATP and WTA events, the wheelchair tour announced in July. It's an integrated format that currently only exists at the four Grand Slams and a handful of larger tournaments throughout the year.
“I think it’ll be huge,” No. 2 men’s wheelchair player Alfie Hewett said about the change. “The exposure that wheelchair tennis can get at events like an ATP or a WTA is massive, and can really bring in a complete new audience.”
The wheelchair tour operates similarly to its ATP and WTA counterparts, with its top players playing a long tournament circuit in cities across the globe, but officially lining up with its men’s and women’s tennis counterparts will mean substantially more eyes for the growing sport.
“The quality of performance is getting higher,” said Yui Kamiji, the U.S. Open women’s wheelchair champion. “So hopefully people enjoy to watch and come back again and again in the near future.”
They’ll be spending more time with those in the ATP and WTA, who are excited to have more tournaments in common.
“I’m a huge fan of wheelchair. Amazing, amazing athletes,” said Jannik Sinner, who participated in a wheelchair tennis demonstration with Hewett at the Miami Open last year. “I hope in this sport, wheelchair gets as big as it can. It’s amazing.”
The USTA, the governing body of American tennis and organizer of the U.S. Open, has long been a champion of wheelchair tennis. It made the U.S. Open the first Grand Slam to introduce junior wheelchair competition, back in 2022, and has facilitated the inclusion of wheelchair tennis at a collegiate level.
This year the USTA was recognized with the ITF Brad Parks Award for Contribution to Global Growth of Wheelchair Tennis.
Moving forward, players on the wheelchair tour are excited for continued growth at the U.S. Open and beyond.
“We always want more. We always want to try and be playing in front of as many people as possible,” said Gordon Reid, the No. 5 men's wheelchair player. “Hopefully we can all move in the right direction together.”
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