| Wheelchair tennis – Men's singles at the VIII Paralympic Games | |||||||||||||||||
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 Paralympic wheelchair tennis | |||||||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||||||
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| Men's singles | |
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| Wheelchair tennis at the 1988 Summer Paralympics |
The men's singles wheelchair tennis competition at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul from 15 until 24 October 1988. It was a demonstration sport and there wasn't a match for the third place (two bronze medals were awarded)
| Semifinals | Final (gold medal match) | ||||||||||||
 Mick Connell (AUS) | 6 | 7 | 6 | ||||||||||
 Chip Turner (USA) | 7 | 6 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Mick Connell (AUS) | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
 Laurent Giammartini (FRA) | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||
| Laurent Giammartini (FRA) | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||
 Sasson Aharoni (ISR) | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||
The 1988 Summer Paralympics, were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" came into official use.
Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height, 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.
Shingo Kunieda, is a Japanese wheelchair tennis player. He is the current world No. 1, and was the ITF World Champion from 2007 to 2010. He was also the year-end No. 1 in doubles in 2007. In 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2015, Kunieda achieved the Grand Slam in singles. In 2007 and 2008, Kunieda also won three of the four Masters series events. Kunieda is the only player to retain the men's singles title at the Paralympics – he achieved victory in 2008, 2012 and 2021. In addition, Kunieda won the gold medal in the men's doubles of the 2004 Paralympics, and has been part of two World Team Cup wins. With 101 career titles over singles and doubles combined, including 46 majors. Kunieda possesses 26 Grand Slam singles titles - an all time record in singles of any discipline. Kunieda is considered by many to be the greatest male wheelchair player of all time.
Wheelchair tennis at the 1988 Summer Paralympics consisted of men's and women's singles events. Despite wheelchair tennis being contested as a demonstration sport, and not an official part of the Paralympic program, medals were awarded and counted for the overall medal list.
Josie Cichockyj was a British wheelchair athlete. Born in Huddersfield, she competed in the London Marathon women's wheelchair race for a number of years, finishing as runner-up to Kay McShane and Karen Davidson, before winning the 1989 race. Josie won further Marathons including the Leeds, Gloucester, Ottawa and Brussels Marathons. Plus several half Marathons including Great North Run and Reading.
Wheelchair tennis was first contested at the Summer Paralympics as a demonstration sport in 1988, with two events being held. It became an official medal-awarding sport in 1992 and has been competed at every Summer Paralympics since then. Four events were held from 1992 to 2000, with quad events in both singles and doubles added in 2004.
Oman made its Paralympic Games début at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, with competitors taking part in track and field, table tennis, weightlifting and wheelchair fencing. The country has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics, but has never entered the Winter Paralympics. Oman's largest delegation was in 1988 with seven athletes. Only male athletes competed until 2016 when Raya Al’Abri competed in women's javelin. Oman won its first medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics when Mohammed al-Mashaykhi won bronze in the Men's shot put F32.
David Robert Hall, OAM is an Australian wheelchair tennis player. He has been referred to as Australia's greatest ever wheelchair tennis player.
Mick "Michael" Connell is an Australian wheelchair tennis player. He won a silver medal in the Men's Singles event at the 1988 Seoul Paralympics. He participated without winning any medals at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics. In 1996, he won the men's doubles at the Australian Open with his partner, David Hall. At the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics, he won a silver medal in the Men's Doubles event with Hall.
Australia competed at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea in 16 sports, winning medals in 6 sports. Gold medals were won in three sports – athletics, lawn bowls and swimming. Australia won 95 medals – 23 gold, 34 silver and 38 bronze medals. Australia finished 10th on the gold medal table and 7th on the combined medal table. Australian Confederation of Sports for the Disabled reported another medal ranking after Games with Australia being 2nd ranked in amputee sports, 8th in wheelchair sports, 11th in blind sports and 12th in cerebral palsy sports.
Wheelchair tennis events at the 2012 Summer Paralympics were held between 1 and 9 September at Eton Manor, London.
The women's singles wheelchair tennis competition at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul from 15 until 24 October 1988. It was a demonstration sport and there wasn't a match for the third place
Caz Walton OBE is a British retired wheelchair athlete and former Great Britain Paralympic team manager. She was a multi-disciplinary gold medallist who competed in numerous Paralympic Games. Between 1964 and 1976 she won medals in athletics, swimming, table tennis, and fencing. She took a break from the Paralympics, entering the basketball and fencing competitions in 1988. In total Walton won ten gold medals during her Paralympic career, making her one of the most successful British athletes of all time. Walton should also have been awarded gold in the 1968 Tel Aviv Women's Pentathlon incomplete but, due to a miscalculation of her total score which went unnoticed at the time, she was given third place and a bronze medal.
Gordon "Gio" Reid is a British professional wheelchair tennis player. He is ranked world No. 4 in singles and world No. 1 in doubles. He is a Paralympic gold, silver, and bronze medalist, two-time Grand Slam singles champion, and eighteen-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.
France competed at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea. 116 competitors from France won 140 medals including 46 gold, 44 silver and 50 bronze and finished 5th in the medal table.
Wheelchair tennis at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan took place at the Ariake Tennis Park from 27 August to 4 September 2021.
Joachim Gérard is a Belgian wheelchair tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 in singles.
Laurent Giammartini is a French wheelchair tennis player. At the 1992 Summer Paralympics held in Barcelona, Spain, he won the silver medal in the men's doubles event together with Thierry Caillier and the bronze medal in the men's singles event. He also represented France at the 1988, 1996 and 2000 Summer Paralympics. He did not win a medal at these events.
Brad Alan Parks is an American tennis player. who co-invented wheelchair tennis with Jeff Minnebraker. During the Uniqlo Wheelchair Tennis Tour in the 1990s, Parks won five singles and seven doubles titles during Championship Series events. During the 1992 Summer Paralympics, Parks reached the quarterfinals in the men's singles and won gold with Randy Snow in the men's doubles. At the 1994 Wheelchair Tennis Masters, Parks also reached the quarterfinals in the men's singles. As an executive, Parks co-founded the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis in 1980 before becoming the first president of the International Wheelchair Tennis Federation in 1988. Parks became part of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2010 and was the 2016 Philippe Chatrier Award recipient from the International Tennis Federation.
