Wheelchair tennis was founded in 1976 and made its debut at the Paralympic Games in 1992.
Sport opportunities are offered for athletes with a permanent physical impairment which is considered eligible by the International Tennis Federation.
There are three categories athletes compete in: men’s, women’s and quads; each division has singles and doubles tournaments.
Opponents hit a tennis ball with a racket back and forth over a .914 metre (3ft) net in the middle of the court. The goal is to hit the ball into the opponent’s half of the court without them being able to return it.
There are no modifications to the size of the court, rackets or tennis balls. The main differences are the specially designed wheelchairs and the ‘two-bounce rule,’ whereby the ball can bounce twice before being hit. The second bounce can be inside or outside the court boundaries.
Matches are the best of three sets, with a tie-break settling each set as required.
At the serve, the server must be in a stationary position before serving the ball, but is allowed one push of the wheelchair before striking the ball.
Hypertonia | Impaired Muscle Power |
Ataxia | Impaired Passive Range of Movement |
Athetosis | Leg Length Difference |
Limb Deficiency |
To be eligible to compete in wheelchair tennis, athletes must have a permanent eligible impairment and meet the sport-specific minimum impairment criteria.
Athletes with different eligible impairments compete against each other in two sport classes according to their level of activity limitation.
Athletes are allocated a sport class based on their ability to execute the following specific tasks fundamental to wheelchair tennis:
For illustrated explanation please click on the button below.
Wheelchair tennis players with a physical disability compete in two sport classes:
Open |
Athletes with permanent impairment of one or both legs, but with normal arm function. |
Quad |
Athletes with additional restrictions in the playing arm, which limit the ability to handle the rack at maneuver the wheelchair. |
Besides having an eligible impairment, athletes must meet one or more of the following minimum impairment criteria (MIC). Please refer to the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Classification Rules.
Eligible impairment | Minimum impairment criteria |
Impaired muscle power | Described in the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Classification Rules (page 35 to 41). |
Lower limb deficiency | Complete unilateral amputation of half the length of the foot (i.e., measured on the non-amputated foot from the tip of the great toe to the posterior aspect of calcaneus) or equivalent minimum congenital limb deficiency (page 41). |
Leg length difference | A minimum of 7cm difference between the left and right leg. Measurements are to be taken from the anterior superior iliac spine to the tip of medial malleolus on the same side (page 41). |
Hypertonia, Ataxia, Athetosis | Described in the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Classification Rules (page 41 to 44). |
Impaired passive range of movement | Described in the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Classification Rules (page 44 to 50). |
To be eligible to apply for a national classification, athletes must:
Only athletes selected by Tennis Ireland should submit the ITF Forms to Paralympics Ireland.
This list includes active athletes who have been classified at national and/or international level. Click here to access the Masterlist.
Tennis Ireland is the National Governing Body for wheelchair tennis in Ireland. If you wish to get involved in wheelchair tennis, please access the National Governing Body link below.
Governing Body | |
National | Tennis Ireland |
International | International Tennis Federation (ITF) |
summary
events