Wheelchair Masters to become Wheelchair Finals as Barcelona hosts
World Tennis has confirmed a new name for its season-ending wheelchair tennis events, with the Wheelchair Masters becoming the NEC Wheelchair Singles Finals and UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Finals.
Barcelona will host the first edition under the new name from 9-15 November, following approval at the 2026 World Tennis AGM in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The new name reflects the event’s role as the season-ending competitions of the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, bringing together the world’s top men’s, women’s and quad players for the final titles of the season. It also clarifies the events’ position at the top of the wheelchair tennis competition pathway.
The 2026 NEC Wheelchair Singles Finals and UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Finals will be held at the Centre Internacional de Tennis de Cornellà, returning to Barcelona for the second time in four years.
Hosted by the Catalan Tennis Federation (FCT), the event will feature many of the biggest names in wheelchair tennis, including Tokito Oda (JPN), Alfie Hewett (GBR), Yui Kamiji (JPN), Diede de Groot (NED), Niels Vink (NED) and Sam Schröder (NED).
Spanish fans will once again have the opportunity to cheer on home favourites, Daniel Caverzaschi and Martin de la Puente, who have continued to raise the profile of wheelchair tennis in Spain since the 2023 Singles and Doubles Masters were last held in Barcelona.
Most notably, Caverzaschi and De la Puente joined forces to win Spain’s first ever Paralympic wheelchair tennis medal, taking bronze in the men’s doubles at the Paris 2024 Games.
De la Puente is also a former Wimbledon men’s singles finalist and US Open doubles champion who won his first Doubles Masters title in 2022 to end the season as the year-end No. 1 player on the men’s doubles ranking.
Spain became the third country after the Netherlands and the USA to host the Singles Masters and Doubles Masters simultaneously in 2023. It also became the fifth country to host the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters and the fourth country to host the Doubles Masters.
The NEC Wheelchair Singles Finals, World Tennis’s year-end event, was first held in Eindhoven, Netherlands, in 1994.
In 2011, the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters was held outside the Netherlands for the first time and has since been hosted in Belgium, China, P.R., Great Britain and the USA, and Spain.
NEC has been title sponsor of the Singles event since its inception in 1994. In 2021, NEC celebrated 30 years of their sponsorship of World Tennis (formerly ITF) wheelchair tennis activities.
The first ever Doubles Finals took place in 2000, alongside the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters, in Amersfoort, Netherlands. Featuring the world’s top six men’s, women’s and quad partnerships, the Doubles became a standalone event in 2003 and has now been hosted in five different countries. UNIQLO became title sponsor of the Doubles Masters in 2014.
Entries for the 2026 NEC Wheelchair Singles Finals and UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Finals are based on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Rankings as of 28 September 2026.
This will be the first time the Centre Internacional de Tennis de Cornellà has hosted a wheelchair tennis event. The venue has a strong recent history of hosting tennis events in Europe and serves as the performance headquarters of the Catalan Tennis Federation (FCT).
The 2026 Wheelchair Finals will also take place during a landmark year for wheelchair tennis, as the sport celebrates its 50th anniversary. The milestone marks five decades since Brad Parks founded the sport in California, USA, in 1976. World Tennis has invested heavily in the development of wheelchair tennis since its inception and, in 1998, became the first international sports federation to fully integrate the wheelchair discipline into its governance structure and wider activities.
David Haggerty, World Tennis President, said: “The NEC Wheelchair Singles Finals and UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Finals mark an exciting new chapter for these prestigious events, bringing together the world’s leading players in Barcelona in the 50th anniversary year of wheelchair tennis. With some of Spain’s leading players also competing, the events reflect the strength and global appeal of wheelchair tennis today.”
Jordi Tamayo, FCT President, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Wheelchair Finals back following the successful edition we hosted in 2023. For the Catalan Tennis Federation, it is a privilege to organise this event and bring the world’s best players to the Centre Internacional de Tennis de Cornellà, while once again contributing to the growth and visibility of wheelchair tennis. As President of the Catalan Tennis Federation and 1st Vice-President of the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation, I am especially proud that we are once again hosting one of the most important events on the international calendar. We look forward to making the 2026 Wheelchair Finals another memorable edition, particularly in the year in which wheelchair tennis celebrates its 50th anniversary.”