NEC renews sponsorship of NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters until 2026
The International Tennis Federation has announced that wheelchair tennis’ longest standing sponsor, NEC, will continue as title sponsor of the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters and as an international partner of Japanese tournaments on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour for an additional three-year period from 2024 through 2026.
NEC marked its 30th year of sponsorship of wheelchair tennis in 2021, NEC’s partnership with the ITF proving the catalyst for the creation in 1992 of the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour, of which it was title sponsor until 2013. This was followed by the launch in 1994 of the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters as the tour’s year-end championship. 2023 is NEC’s 30th year as title sponsor of the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters.
In the last 30 years wheelchair tennis has become one of the fastest growing wheelchair sports in the world, both in size and popularity, a full medal Paralympic sport, and has a professional tour, which today boasts 160 tournaments around the world offering over $5 million in prize money.
This year the NEC Wheelchair Singes Masters will be hosted by the Catalan Tennis Federation from October 30th to November 5th at the Emilio Sanchez Academy in Barcelona.
The ITF’s year-end championship for the world’s top eight men’s, women’s, and quad singles players will run simultaneously with the ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters, which will feature the top eight men’s doubles partnerships, the top six women’s doubles partnerships and the top four quad doubles partnerships.
The finals of the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters will take place on Sunday, November 5th, the day after the ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters finals.
ITF President, David Haggerty, said, ““There is no doubt that wheelchair would not be where it is today without the loyal support of NEC, whose commitment to the development of the sport and its year-end championship, the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters, has always been exemplary.
Wheelchair tennis has long been one of the fastest growing and most popular of all para sports and on behalf of the ITF and wheelchair tennis, I would like to express our ongoing gratitude to NEC, and we look forward to continuing this longstanding and successful partnership.”
Takayuki Morita, President and CEO, NEC Corporation, said: “We are delighted to announce the continuation of our partnership with the International Tennis Federation. It is a great honour for us to mark 30 years of our sponsorship of the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters, and we are tremendously proud of NEC for supporting the development of this sport since its inception.”