Wheelchair Tennis was invented in 1976 by Brad Parks, who had been experimenting with tennis as a recreational therapy after he was injured in a freestyle skiing competition.
Since these humble beginnings, the sport has grown at an amazing rate: now fully integrated into all four Grand Slam Tennis events, and with more than 170 tournaments on the ITF’s own Wheelchair Tennis Tour, it is more popular than ever.
Saturday 1 September – Saturday 8 September 2012
Six: men’s and women’s Singles, Quad Singles, men’s and women’s Doubles and Quad Doubles.
112: 64–80 men and 32–48 women.
Each country is limited to four athletes each in the men’s and women’s Singles, three athletes in the Quad Singles, two teams (four athletes) each in the men’s and women’s Doubles, and one team (two athletes) in the Quad Doubles. Quad players have an impairment that affects three or more limbs.
Quad players have an impairment that affects three or more limbs. Men and women compete together in the Quad events.
Read more about Wheelchair Tennis classification
The court is the same size as that for Olympic Tennis: the singles court is 23.77m long and 8.23m wide, and the doubles court is wider at 10.97m wide. The court is divided in half by a net, which is 91cm high.
After featuring as an exhibition sport at the Seoul 1988 Paralympic Games, Wheelchair Tennis was introduced as a full medal event at the Barcelona 1992 Games, and has featured at every Games since then.
The sport follows similar rules to Tennis, with one key exception: the ball is allowed to bounce twice, and only the first bounce must be within the boundaries of the court. All matches are played over the best of three sets.
For a complete set of rules, please refer to the website of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), governing body for the sport.
The tournament is a knockout format, with the winners of the semi-finals in each event going head-to-head for the gold medals.
An umpire is in charge of the match, ensuring that the rules of the game are observed and calling out the score after each point. The umpire is assisted by line judges, who keep an eye on whether the ball lands in our out of court.
Wheelchair Tennis is a fast and dynamic sport needing strength and incredible stamina. Doubles players must be in perfect harmony, working together as a team.
Ace – a legal serve that the opposing player fails to touch with their racket.
Baseline – the far boundary line at either end of the court.
Lob – a ball hit high in the air, usually deep into the opponent's court.
Love – no points; zero.
Tie-break – if the score in games reaches 6-6 in anything other than the deciding set, there is a tie-break, won by the first player or doubles team to reach seven points with a margin of at least two clear points. A first-to-10 tie-break is also used to decide Doubles matches that reach one set all.
If you want to find out about Wheelchair Tennis in your country, including clubs, facilities and coaching schemes, check the website of your National Governing Body for Wheelchair Tennis. To find out how you can get involved in Wheelchair Tennis in the UK, go to thegamesandbeyond.com
For more information on the Wheelchair Tennis competition at London 2012 and the rules of the sport, go to the website of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), governing body for the sport.
