The UNIQLO Interview: Martin Legner
While it would be disingenuous to suggest that Martin Legner has been around since the dawn of wheelchair tennis, he has been playing for a large proportion of its lifespan and witnessed firsthand the sport’s growth.
The evolution of wheelchair tennis is in sharp focus this year with it being 50 years since Brad Parks put his concept of playing tennis in a wheelchair into practice, with celebrations taking place worldwide.
Austrian Legner is well placed to offer commentary on the majority of that half-century having contested his first international wheelchair tennis tournament in September 1989 and proceeded to enjoy a storied career.
To contextualise, Legner is a former world No. 3 who has won three Grand Slam doubles and as many Masters doubles titles as part of a whopping career haul of 350 titles. He also competed at eight successive Paralympic Games from 1992.
Wheelchair tennis's involvement at the Paralympic Games is just one way in which the rise of the sport can be evidenced, with modern-day stars shining under the Roland Garros spotlight and a packed Court Philippe Chatrier in 2024.
Indeed, wheelchair tennis has gone from its maiden event in 1977 to a sport now played at all four Grand Slams. In addition, the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour has a Premier Tier and these days the sport enjoys ever-increasing prize money and greater commercialisation.
“It is unbelievable how much wheelchair tennis has developed,” Tyrol-born Legner told itftennis.com. “The sport is unrecognisable from where it was when I first started playing – it is so much faster, the players are so much stronger, and it is so much more professional.
“When I first played, it was more of a social event and some tournaments were a big party. A tournament is more than just hitting the ball on court and players had a lot of fun. It sounds strange to say that now, but it really was like this.
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“Now, it is far more professional. The players are better prepared, they play better tennis and they care more about the tennis. The equipment is also better – everything is better and is continually getting better.
“That sense of camaraderie and fun is still there, it just comes out in a different way – and that’s okay. I still enjoy everything about wheelchair tennis, and it has been a lifestyle ever since my first tournament.”
As he himself suggests, the 64-year-old remains entrenched within wheelchair tennis circles and he spoke to iftennis.com during the European qualification event for the 2026 BNP Paribas World Team Cup World Group.
Legner has played internationally for Austria more than 35 years and has contested more World Team Cup World Groups than any other player. That level of longevity inevitably evokes nostalgia for a bygone time, but while there are aspects of the past which Legner misses, there are others he does not.
“It was not always the case that we stayed in hotels or enjoyed hospitality at events – I remember it all,” said Legner. “I can recall one tournament where there were 20 of us sleeping in beds in a sports hall.
“It was not normal to sleep in hotels, and this is a big difference between then and now. It is of course better to sleep in hotels. On another occasion we were sleeping at an army barracks and there was a 6am wake-up call.
“I have also stayed at schools, in tents, in caravans and in cars. Now it is much more professional with more support from tournaments and national associations. And the prize money at these events, in the past sometimes there were only petrol vouchers home.”
As with all tennis players, non-disabled or not, there is a person behind the player and a backstory – more often than not a fascinating one. In terms of how he came to play wheelchair tennis, Legner has required the use of a wheelchair since a paragliding accident in 1988.
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"When I had my accident, I did not know that you could do sports in a wheelchair,” added Legner. “At my rehab centre, I learnt that I could also do basketball, table tennis and ski racing.
"I liked all of those sports, but wheelchair tennis was the one I enjoyed the most because I could do it with able-bodied people and it’s a social sport.”
Legner has always enjoyed a natural aptitude for sports and while a child he dreamed of becoming a professional footballer or skier. Within three years of his paragliding accident, he was close to becoming a Paralympian in two sports.
“For the first few years, I did ski racing as well as wheelchair tennis,” he said. “I qualified for the Winter Paralympics in 1992 but couldn’t go because two weeks before the Games I broke both my legs after crashing into a gate in the German Championships.”
From there, wheelchair tennis dominated Legner's time and skiing’s loss was most certainly his newfound love's gain. It has been quite the journey for both player and sport since, while it is hard to imagine one without the other.
“If I had to give up wheelchair tennis tomorrow, I would miss all the people involved in the sport,” added Legner. “But, also, if you don’t do anything when you're in a wheelchair then your body gets fat and your mind gets slow.
“The game of wheelchair tennis ensures your mind is always working. Whether it’s deuce, advantage or a tiebreak, your mind is in the game. Your head decides whether you’re happy or not, and I’m happy when I play wheelchair tennis.”