Introduction

● The game of Wheelchair Tennis follows the same rules as able-bodied tennis as endorsed by the ITF (International Tennis Federation).
● The wheelchair tennis player is allowed two bounces of the ball. The second bounce can be either in or out of the court boundaries.
● To be eligible to compete, a player must have a medically diagnosed permanent mobility related physical disability which must result in a substantial loss of function in one or both lower extremities.
● Wheelchair Tennis also has an international tour. The NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour.

NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour
The NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour originated in 1992 with 11 international tournaments. By 2000, the number of tournaments had reached a peak of 130 events in 37 countries and the 2007 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour consists of 126 tournaments in 32 countries, with the continued emphasis on quality as opposed to quantity. With international rankings and prize money, the sport has clearly elevated itself to another level. Tournaments offer various divisions allowing all players a chance to compete at an appropriate standard of play. The No. 1 ranked male and female players at the end of the year are honoured as the Wheelchair Tennis World Champions during the ITF World Champions Dinner held at Roland Garros.

The primary goals of the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour are to:

● Provide opportunities for thousands of people with physical disabilities to compete in events organised at the highest level of organisation and professionalism.
● Offer high intensity competition and excitement for men, women, junior and quad players from the recreational to the professional level.
● Increase awareness for persons with disabilities throughout the world.
● Give wheelchair athletes rightful recognition as top sport athletes.
● Create opportunities for athletes to enjoy and compete in a sport for a lifetime with able-bodied and disabled people.

International Ranking

● The NEC Wheelchair Tennis ranking is calculated by combining the points of the top nine (9) tournaments for men, the top seven (7) tournaments for women and the top six (6) tournaments for quads, based on a 52 week roll-over period.
All players must have competed in a minimum of two events and have earned points from the two events to obtain a ranking.

Categories of events

Masters Series, Super Series, ITF 1, 2 and 3 Series and ITF Futures Series Main Draw and Second Draw (singles and doubles) and Consolation (Main Draw singles only).

● Masters Series
The Wheelchair Tennis Masters, in singles and doubles, are the year-end events of the Wheelchair Tennis Tour. The top 8 men and women and the top 4 quads on the rankings will be invited to participate in the Singles Masters. For the
Doubles Masters the top 8 men's, top 4 women’s and top 4 quad doubles teams will be accepted based on the combined doubles ranking of the players.

Other events

● World Team Cup
The World Team Cup is the official wheelchair tennis Team Event of the ITF. The World Team Cup is played in a different country, once a year, for men, women, quads and juniors. In order to participate a country must be a member of the ITF and IWTA.

● Paralympic Games
After being an exhibition sport at the 1988 Paralympic Games, wheelchair tennis is a full medal sport from 1992 onwards. The regulations are decided by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Paralympic Organising Committee in conjunction with the ITF. In order to participate a country must be a member of the ITF and IWTA.

For more details about the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour, please refer to the following web sites:



www.itftennis.com/wheelchair


www.nec.co.jp/community/en/mecenat4.html