Olympic and Paralympic batons pass from Paris to Los Angeles
It was quite the occasion at Roland Garros as the latest group of distinguished players and contributors to the sport of wheelchair tennis were inducted into the Wheelchair Tennis Hall of Champions.
The induction ceremony took place on Court Suzanne-Lenglen during the Roland Garros Wheelchair Tennis Championships, which were filled with memorable on-court action and compelling storylines – much like the past 50 years.
The inductees were honoured by ITF President David Haggerty and French Tennis Federation President Gilles Moretton before both spoke in glowing terms about the ongoing journey and upward trajectory of wheelchair tennis at a Roland Garros media event.
“The 50th anniversary of wheelchair tennis is a chance to honour all those who have shaped the sport and been instrumental in helping the sport grow in those early years and since, right up to the present day,” said Haggarty.
“It is also an opportunity to look forward, support the next generation of players and ensure that wheelchair tennis continues to evolve, excite and break new ground.
“The last 50 years are a remarkable legacy, and the Hall of Champions is an excellent platform which allows us to celebrate the sport and how much it has evolved, although the best of wheelchair tennis is to come.
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“More than half of Olympic sport federations are still separate when it comes to para-sport and the ITF will be forever proud of becoming the first international sports federation to fully integrate a disability sport into its governance structure."
Through Parks’ exploits, wheelchair tennis was born and it has grown exponentially since, evolving and transcending conventional wisdom. It continues to push boundaries through the lens of sport as well as society and culture.
From being incorporated into the Paralympic Games as a full medal sport in 1992, its modern-day stars took the Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event to Roland Garros and a packed Court Philippe Chatrier in 2024.
The sport is also played at all four Grand Slams while this year saw the introduction of a Premier Tier to the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour with increasing prize money. Whichever way you look at it, wheelchair tennis has come a long way.
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“These last 50 years that have mattered so much for the development of wheelchair tennis everywhere in the world and the FFT was so glad and happy to host the celebratory event at Roland Garros,” said Moretton.
“The legacy of our Olympic and Paralympic Games here in Paris in 2024 is still fresh and I hope we will be able to build on this legacy in the future. The Games were a huge success here and there were incredible wheelchair tennis matches that took place.”
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event really caught the imagination of the record-breaking crowds at Roland Garros – the first Grand Slam venue to host the Games.
Revolutionary and transformational are just two words which could be used to describe the Games, which saw an endless stream of intriguing narratives and daily instalments of emotion-ridden history.
A total of 191,000 tickets were sold across the nine days of competitive action as the skill and drama which defines wheelchair tennis were showcased to a new global audience.
Attention is now turning towards the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, with this year’s Roland Garros the venue for a metaphoric yet symbolic passing of the baton.
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“Both the Paris 2024 Olympic Tennis Event and Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event were spectacular and we see this continuing,” added Haggerty.
“We are very proud as a sport to be one of the few sports that has para and non-para athletes playing professionally alongside each other at events all around the world.
“I would also like to say what a fantastic job everyone at Roland Garros did to make Paris 2024 such a success. We're hoping that we can have that same success and that same high level in Los Angeles in 2028.”
It is worth noting there are some key changes ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Tennis Event, including the Pacific Games, which will take place from 24 July-8 August in Tahiti, being part of the qualification pathway for the first time.
LA 2028 will also see the mixed doubles event contested during the opening two days of action, with the gold medal match taking place on the second of those.
“We will start the Olympic Tennis Event with the mixed doubles event, which will be played over the first two days,” said Haggerty. “We want the top players to be able to play it.
“Sometimes the players try to play singles, doubles and mixed doubles and, as the tournament comes towards the end, they're perhaps focusing on singles if they're doing well. The change enables everybody to compete in the beginning.
“It will be a draw of 16 and there will be two matches per day. There will be a match tiebreak in the third set, so we’re trying to keep matches to a reasonable length so athletes can prepare and recover.
“It will be a great way to kick off the Olympic Tennis Event and we're very excited about it.”