Tennis Australia have announced the entries for the first three tournaments on the 2023 UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, culminating in the Australian Open, with the first major of the year set to feature 40 wheelchair players for the first time.

Expanded draws of 16 players for the men’s and women’s draws at the Australian Open mean that Great Britain’s Ben Bartram and Maria Florencia Moreno of Argentina will each contest the first Grand Slam of their respective careers.

The UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour will once again get underway with back-to-back tournaments at Hume Tennis Centre in Craigieburn, a suburb of Melbourne north of the city, with the ITF 1 Series Victorian Open starting on 10 January before the Melbourne Open, the first Super Series of the new season, begins on 16 January. Live streaming during both tournaments will be available via Hume Tennis Centre’s Facebook page.

Sixty-three players are entered for the men’s, women’s and quad events across the three tournaments that make up the ‘Australian Wheelchair Tennis Summer Series’, while 10 players will contest the junior events across the Victorian Open and the Melbourne Open.

Thirteen of the top 15 men’s players, 14 of the top 15 women’s players and seven of top 10 quad players based on the ranking cut-off date of 12 December are set contest the Victorian Open, including Japan’s defending men’s and women’s singles champions Shingo Kunieda and Yui Kamiji. Australia’s Heath Davidson will head the quad singles entry and bid to succeed Dylan Alcott as champion.

Thirteen of the top 15 players, including 2022 champion Alfie Hewett, will again head the men’s singles entry for the Melbourne Open, where defending women’s champion Diede de Groot will open her 2023 campaign as all of the top 15 women’s singles players line up for the first Super Series tournament of the year. Sam Schroder and defending champion Niels Vink head the quad singles entry, which features nine of the world’s top 10 players.

Kunieda, De Groot and Schroder will then move on to the Australian Open as defending men’s, women’s and quad singles champions.

“We can’t wait to host the world’s best players back here in January again for the Australian Wheelchair Tennis Summer Series, both at Hume Tennis and Community Centre and Melbourne Park,” said Tennis Australia Wheelchair Tennis tournament director Daniel O’Neill.

“To have the world’s best wheelchair tennis players compete at Hume Tennis prior to playing at the Australian Open is a privilege and an opportunity for the community to experience world class sport. Each tournament day there will be a feature match from 5pm allowing for people to enjoy after work action,” said Tim Connelly, Managing Director of Hume Tennis Centre.