Tennis, like many other sports, has a burgeoning scene catered towards its disabled players. Interest in the sport saw huge expansion in 2022 with the crowds that the 2022 US Open attracted with regards to its wheelchair tournament, and there are now signs that interest in disabled tennis tournaments will increase through 2022. This is good news, of course, for inclusivity, as there’s a greater chance that more people living with disability will get the opportunity to try out the sport – which is already one of the better sports for people with such conditions.
Growing in confidence
For the American sport at least, the US Open brought about one phrase in particular – growing in confidence. As the US Open website profiles, disabled wheelchair tennis players found themselves more encouraged by the 2022 tournament than perhaps others before. There’s a good basis for tennis as a great sport for people living with disability to get into. Extra bounce on the ball has been built in to the game to account for the travel time of wheelchairs, or people with other mobility requirements, and the results have been very positive – a seamless approach into the game that helps disabled people to enjoy the game without there needing to be a huge departure from the rules of tennis in its basic form and what makes them love it as they do.
Spreading the knowledge
With this uptick in interest has come a greater level of available knowledge. As the Wall Street Journal highlights, there are still exercises and requirements that need to be done in order to play well in disabled tennis – this helps to prepare the body for the very exact movements that need to be taken through wheelchair tennis in order to have a fun game. The key here is that the information is out there and available on the internet and further afield – meaning specialized help, like a personal trainer, isn’t required in order to get the knowledge and training required to get out on the green or clay.
Doing a bit more
Wheelchair tennis is one way to enjoy tennis for disabled people, but only caters to one specific disability. For everyone else, there’s a lot of work being done by the US Tennis Association to promote adaptive tennis. This is a more flexible and varied way around adapting tennis to people of all ability levels and with any type of disability or other condition. This is great news for the wider sport and its levels of inclusivity, and will be music to the ears of followers who want their own time out on the court.
When the 2023 US Open rolls around, there’ll be a new focus on wheelchair tennis. That’s good for the sport, but, this year, hopefully it’ll be with a view of even more disabled tennis players and even more opportunities for those who have, in the past, been precluded from playing the racquet and ball.
