Added: 12/02/2005 |
Most prestigious wheelchair tennis competitionsWheelchair tennis champions blow up the myth that life ceases with disability. Wheelchair tennis players squeeze happiness from every moment as they go for gold in world's most prestigious wheelchair tennis competitions like Australian Wheelchair Tennis Open and Camozzi Wheelchair Tennis Doubles Masters.
The most striking difference in rules between 'tennis for pedestrian' and wheelchair tennis has to do with the number of bounces allowed for a tennis ball to hit the ground before it must be returned. Thus, in wheelchair tennis a ball is allowed to bounce up to two times before it is played, moreover, the second bounce may occur outside of the court. This rule is also applicable to service.
Since the foundation of wheelchair tennis in mid 70-s, a lot of efforts have been made in order to promote the sport and get rid of the common therapy image that is still peculiar to many sports for disabled people today. It has been Paralympic sport from the time when the Summer Paralympics took place in Seoul in 1988, but only in 1992 when Summer Paralympics were held in Barcelona, that wheelchair tennis was granted the standing of a full-fledged competition. Immense leap of public awareness was achieved in 2000 during the Summer Paralympics in Sydney. Some of the most exciting actions of all the Paralympic Games may well be seen especially in the final rounds of the men's tournaments.
Just like in non-wheelchair tennis there are many wheelchair tennis competitions. With international rankings and award money, the wheelchair tennis has visibly elevated itself to a different level. Wheelchair tennis competitions and tournaments offer differentiated divisions providing all players with the opportunity to compete at a proper standard of play. The male and female players who have become #1 at the end of each year honored as the champions of World wheelchair tennis at the ITF Dinner of World Champions at Roland Garros.
The most prestigious set of wheelchair tennis competitions is International Tour. The NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour was commenced in 1992 and involved 11 international tournaments at the early stage. It has considerably grown in popularity and size over the years and today involves more that 100 wheelchair tennis competitions played worldwide including such well-known tournaments as Australian Wheelchair Tennis Open, US Open, British Open and many others. To be admitted to compete, players have to be diagnosed by medical commission permanent physical disability related to player's mobility which has to result in considerable loss of function in one or two lower extremities.
The Camozzi Wheelchair Tennis Doubles Masters is the most prestigious doubles competition on the international wheelchair tennis tour that has a total prize money fund of $40, 000. It also carries Masters Series status of ITF, having with it a rich source of ranking points. When it falls to the end of the calendar, Camozzi Wheelchair Tennis Doubles Masters may decisive in the year-end world #1 doubles players in all the men's, women's and quad standings published by the ITF
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