Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height and rackets are the same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis: athletes use specially designed wheelchairs, and the ball may bounce up to two times, where the second bounce may also occur outside the court.
Tennis was part of the Summer Olympic Games program from the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics, but was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics due to disputes between the International Lawn Tennis Federation and the International Olympic Committee over how to define amateur players. After two appearances as a demonstration sport in 1968 and 1984, it returned as a full medal sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics open for all players regardless of their age and status and has been played at every summer Games since then.
Table tennis competition has been in the Summer Olympic Games since 1988, with singles and doubles events for men and women. Athletes from China have dominated the sport, winning a total of 66 medals in 42 events, including 37 out of a possible 42 gold medals, and only failing to win at least one medal in one event, the inaugural men's singles event at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Wheelchair tennis at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre from 8 September to 15 September.
Shraga Weinberg is an Israeli wheelchair tennis player.
Peter Robert Norfolk OBE is a British wheelchair tennis player. Following a motorbike accident which left him paraplegic, he uses a wheelchair. He took up tennis and following a further spinal complication in 2000, he began competing in the quad division. He is nicknamed The Quadfather.
Dylan Martin Alcott, is an Australian former wheelchair tennis player, former wheelchair basketball player, radio host, actor, foundation founder, business owner and motivational speaker. Alcott was a member of the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team, known colloquially as the Australian "Rollers". At the age of 17, he became the youngest Rollers gold medal winner, at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, and was the youngest to compete in the wheelchair basketball competition. In 2014, he returned to wheelchair tennis with the aim of participating at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, at which he won gold medals in the Men's Quad Singles and Doubles. He was named the 2016 Australian Paralympian of the Year due to his outstanding achievements at Rio.
David Wagner is an American wheelchair tennis player. Paralyzed from the mid-chest down and with thirty percent function in his hands, he competes in the quad division. He plays by taping the tennis racket to his hand. He is currently ranked number three in the world in singles and number two in doubles.
Ireland was one of twenty-eight nations to send a delegation to compete at the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv, Israel from November 4 to 13, 1968. The team finished nineteenth in the medal table and won a total of nine medals; four silver and five bronze. Seven Irish athletes competed at the Games, five men and two women.
Wheelchair tennis events at the 2012 Summer Paralympics were held between 1 and 9 September at Eton Manor, London.
Wheelchair tennis first entered the Summer Paralympic Games in 1988 as a demonstration sport and as a full medal sport at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Australia has competed at every Paralympic wheelchair tennis competition. There are two categories of medals - open division and quad division.
Wheelchair tennis classification is the classification system for wheelchair tennis designed to bring fair play for all competitors. Classification is overseen by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and carried out by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
Sharon Walraven is a Dutch wheelchair tennis player. She became paraplegic at age 23 after complications following a fall while she was ice-skating. She has won seven Grand Slams doubles titles partnering compatriot Esther Vergeer. At the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing she won the gold medal in the women's doubles competition. At the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney she won a silver medal in the women's singles competition. Walraven has a highest ranking of No.2 in singles and No.1 in doubles.
Gordon James Reid is a British professional wheelchair tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 in singles and world No. 1 in doubles. He holds two Paralympic gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal, and is a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, and record holding twenty-five time Grand Slam doubles champion.
Wheelchair tennis events at the 2016 Summer Paralympics were held between 8 and 16 September at Olympic Tennis Centre, Rio. This was the seventh full Paralympic wheelchair tennis competition since the event was introduced in 1992, having been a demonstration event in 1988.
Bas van Erp was a Dutch wheelchair tennis player.
Chantal Vandierendonck is a Dutch former professional wheelchair tennis player. Vandierendonck won various wheelchair tennis championships held by the International Tennis Federation and multiple Paralympic medals from 1988 to 1996. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014.
Monique Kalkman-Van den Bosch is a Dutch former professional wheelchair tennis and table tennis player. Monique competed at the Paralympics in 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996. In 2017, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Wheelchair tennis at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan took place at the Ariake Tennis Park from 27 August to 4 September 2021.
