Tennis is one of the most popular games in the world. Millions of people play Tennis as recreation and many players play it as a profession. There are some major tournaments for Tennis in the world. It is also included in the Olympics. It is played in almost all countries in the world.
People of all ages can play Tennis who can hold a racket. Wheelchair tennis is a form of game played by wheelchair users. Some people can think that Wheelchair Tennis is condolent to disabled people but it is more than that. Tennis is now played as an international game and millions of dollars are given as prize money. Australia, UK, the USA, and some other countries become the host for international tournaments every year and it is also included in the Summer Paralympics which holds wheelchair tennis every four years. There are many international tournaments for it. It is a sport and a great source of inspiration for everyone all over the world.
Retired Chief participates in wheelchair tennis during Invictus Games 2016.
Every year, many people become disabled due to accidents or some neurological problems and diseases such as Stroke, Brain tumors (Benign and Malignant), Cerebral Palsy, Spinal Cord, or nerve lesions. Besides, it can be occurred congenitally or just from birth. Those persons lose their hope and they think that their life has been wasted or he/they can do nothing in their life. Finally, they become disappointed and depressed. Due to their disappointment, they lose their potential in life. Every person born in the world has some great potential to do something for him for society and the country in the future. The potential can be useful if he/she has the hope and gets the proper environment around him to do something despite all adverse situations.
But in most cases, He doesn’t get any support and society e makes him more disappointed. Eventually, they become dependent on others and start to think that their whole life is a curse. They lose their hope.
Depression happens not only in the lives of disabled people but also in the life of absolutely normal people. In many cases, depression destroys our potential. But wheelchair tennis players have shown that they could have a lot of problems in their lives, but they can overcome all the obstacles and march on the path of success.
Brad Parks introduced Wheelchair Tennis as a competitive game globally and started to gain popularity and be treated as an elite game. France hosted the first wheelchair tennis tournament in 1982. Then it is included in1988 summer Paralympics. After that wheelchair tennis tournament was organized in Barcelona and Sydney Paralympic games. Now it is played in Paralympic games every four years.
Besides the Paralympics, there are some major tournaments for Wheelchair Tennis. ITF Wheelchair Tennis tour consists of different tournaments. Among the tournaments, Grand Slam is the most prestigious. Some others are Masters, ITF super series, ITF 1 series, ITF 2 series, ITF 3 series, and ITF Future series.
There are many similarities between Tennis and Wheelchair Tennis, such as court measurements, net height, and quality of rackets. Significant differences include using wheelchairs by the athletes and some gameplay rules. Some athletes use electric-powered wheelchairs
Esther Vergeer is a legendary player of Wheelchair Tennis who has won four consecutive Paralympic gold medals. He an inspiration for every player.
If anyone thinks that Wheelchair Tennis players don’t earn much from the tournament, they are absolutely wrong. They earn a lot by participating the major tournaments. 2016 ITF tours prize money was 2 million dollars. They also earn from sponsors and TV commercials.
Wheelchair Tennis is one of the most emerging sports in the world played using wheelchairs. There are a lot of professional tours. UNIQLO hosts 150 tournaments in every corner of the world in about 40 different countries and it offers about 3 million US dollars as the prize money.
We all know Novak Djokovic. He is one of the greatest players in the history of Tennis. The world’s number one Novak Djokovic recently uploaded a photo in his Instagram profile with a Wheelchair Tennis player named Gustavo Fernandez who is also the most outstanding. Gustavo has won several Grand Slams Wheelchair Tennis Tournaments recently. Paying tribute to Gustavo, Djokovic wrote in the caption, “Gustavo and I talked Tennis today. Wheelchair Tennis players are truly an inspiration for me. It’s amazing how they manage to execute the shot while constantly having one hand on the wheel. Gustavo was kind enough to answer all the questions and give me some insights into his herculean efforts on the court.”
He admitted that he had tried several times to play Wheelchair Tennis. But it was super hard for him. He admired and gave due respect to Gustavo and all the wheelchair tennis players. He congratulated them and thanked the US open officials for arranging such competitive Wheelchair Tennis tournaments for unstoppable people after having such disabilities.
This game is an inspiration for the disabled and an inspiration for sports associations around the world. It inspired different countries and associations to think for the people who cannot play
normally like us. With the proper support, those people can unleash their potential and entertain us a lot.
Some sports in the world are hazardous such as racing, diving, etc. A lot of players every year have accidents during sports. They get a lot of suffering. Some players have to leave the sport and some players become disabled for their whole life. Doing sports is everything for a player. Without sports, life becomes very hard for those. Wheelchair Tennis can be a great inspiration for them. Some players become depressed as they cannot achieve the ultimate success in the sports but wheelchair Tennis is inspiring them a lot. We hope sports will be open for all the world people so that every potential is utilized and those efforts can act as a great source of inspiration for us. Thus, we can make a better world for everyone.
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