Parapan 101: Wheelchair Tennis

Wheelchair Tennis was created for individuals with lower body disabilities, and became popular in 1976. The sport was first introduced as a demonstration sport in the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea. It became on official sport at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain.

Wheelchair Tennis uses the same size courts, balls, and rackets as able-bodied tennis, but the main difference is the ball can bounce twice and can even bounce out of the field of play. There are two categories: Men and Ladies with singles and doubles events in both.

Results from 2011 Parapan Am Games

Event                   Men’s singles

Gold              Gustavo Fernandez Argentina

Silver             Augustin Ledesma Argentina

Bronze                 Stephen Welch USA

Canada’s Joel Dembe finished in second round and Philippe Bedard finished in the first round.

Event                  Ladies singles

Gold                Mackenzie Soldan USA

Silver                         Mary Kaiser USA

Bronze                Angelica Bernal Colombia

Event                 Men’s doubles

Gold            John Rydberg / Stephen Welch USA

Silver    Gustavo Fernandez / Augustin Ledesma Argentina

Bronze      Mauricio Pomme / Carlos Santos Brazil

Canada finished in the quarterfinals.

Event                Ladies doubles

Gold          Mary Kaiser /  Mackenzie Soldan USA

Silver     Angelica Bernal / Johanna Martinez Colombia

Bronze   Francisca Mardones / Maria Antoineta Ortiz Chile

Click here for more results.

Venue for 2015
University of Toronto Scarborough Tennis Centre near 131 Old Kingston Road, Toronto, Ontario.

Read our other Parapan 101 articles:

Parapan 101: Goalball
Parapan 101: Boccia