Newly crowned Wimbledon men’s singles champion and three-time Paralympic silver medallist Alfie Hewett, his doubles partner and Rio 2016 men’s singles gold medallist Gordon Reid, Ben Bartram and Dahnon Ward will contest the men’s singles and doubles draws in Paris.

Experienced Paralympians and multiple medallists Lucy Shuker and Andy Lapthorne are named in the team to compete in the women’s wheelchair and quad wheelchair draws respectively.

Set to make her fifth Paralympic Games appearance is Shuker, already a three-time women’s doubles medallist, who made history alongside the now-retired Jordanne Whiley at London 2012 and Tokyo 2020. Shuker and Whiley became the first female players to win a wheelchair tennis medal for ParalympicsGB at London 2012 before upgrading two successive bronze medals to a first women’s doubles silver medal for a British pairing at Tokyo 2020.

Shuker commented: “It’s an incredible achievement to have qualified directly for my fifth Paralympic Games and an absolute honour to put on a ParalympicsGB tracksuit and represent my country.

“I love the excitement that begins with the Olympics and then to see the Paralympics unfold showcasing what athletes with all sorts of disabilities can achieve. It’s a time that unites the world and I can’t wait to be a part of it.

“This will be the first Games since London that is taking place so close to home and I can’t wait to have the support of family and friends who will experience the Paralympics for themselves.”

Lapthorne will represent ParalympicsGB for the fourth time – the 33-year-old three-time medallist’s Paralympic highlights to date including the quad singles silver medal at Rio 2016.

Nineteen-year-old Bartram, from Sprowston, Norfolk, also made his Wimbledon debut last week, and is relishing his first Paralympic Games after being inspired by Rio 2016, where British Wheelchair tennis players finished top of their medal table.

He said: “I’m so incredibly excited and proud to be going to my first Paralympic Games. My interest in wheelchair tennis started with watching Alfie (Hewett) play in Rio. Since then, the sport has taken me on an amazing journey and I’m so excited for everything that’s ahead over the coming weeks. It’s going to be so special to have family and friends in Paris supporting me and I can’t thank everyone enough for the support that they’ve given me to get to this stage. I can’t wait to get out there and give it my all.”

Also making his debut in ParalympicsGB’s Wheelchair tennis team, Ward will turn 19 two days before the start of the Paris 2024 Wheelchair tennis event. He and Bartram have developed through the sport’s junior ranks together, winning Junior Masters and US Open junior titles.

Penny Briscoe, Chef de Mission at ParalympicsGB for Paris 2024, commented: “The squad boasts an impressive blend of seasoned Paralympic Games veterans and exciting debutants. Many of the men’s and women’s players have already made a significant impact on the World and European stages in recent years. Now, they are looking to make their own history in Paris.

“The skill, speed, and excitement of this sport are set to captivate audiences across the globe, and we can’t wait to see them in action this summer.”

Wheelchair tennis will take place at Roland Garros on 30 August – 7 September, with the iconic venue becoming the first Grand Slam tennis venue to ever be used for a Paralympic wheelchair tennis event and also the venue where world No.1 Hewett won the first of what are now nine Grand Slam singles titles in 2017.

A total of around 220 athletes from 19 sports are expected to make up the British team that will compete in Paris, with further names to be announced by ParalympicsGB in the coming days. At Tokyo 2020 ParalympicsGB won medals across a record breaking 18 different sports – the highest number of any nation ever. ParalympicsGB finished second on the medal table with 124 medals overall, including 41 gold, 38 silver and 45 bronze.

Erik Koers, Head of the LTA’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Pathway and Team Leader for Wheelchair tennis at Paris 2024, commented: ”I’m extremely excited that we can announce a ParalympicsGB Wheelchair tennis team that combines tremendous success and experience in the special arena of Paralympic competition with the youth and exciting potential provided by our two debutants, Ben and Dahnon.

“Our four experienced Paralympians are all multiple medallists and all six players have achieved a wealth of success at the highest level outside of the Paralympic Games. Combining this with the invaluable experience of our coaching and support staff, we look forward to continuing to work towards a very special Games and ensuring that all of our players are as best prepared as they can be to deliver performance that we know they are capable of.”

The six Wheelchair tennis team members selected to compete for ParalympicsGB in Paris, are:

Ben Bartram, 19, Sprowston, Norwich
Events – men’s singles and doubles
Alfie Hewett, 26, Cantley, Norwich,
Events – men’s singles and doubles
Andy Lapthorne, 33, Eastcote, Middlesex
Events – quad singles and doubles (TBC)
Gordon Reid, 32, Helensburgh/Glasgow, Scotland
Events – men’s singles and doubles
Lucy Shuker, 44, Verwood, Dorset
Events – women’s singles and doubles (TBC)
Dahnon Ward, 18, Kegworth, Derbys/Leics
Events – men’s singles and doubles

With thanks to ParalympicsGB

The LTA has today announced that the 2024 Lexus British Open Roehampton for the best wheelchair players in the world, will take place at the Wimbledon Qualifying and Community Sports Centre in Roehampton alongside the prestigious ITF J300 junior event (the main warm-up to The Championships), on 30 June – 5 July.  The Lexus British Open, which has usually taken place in August at the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre, moves to a new week in the calendar to provide enhanced grass-court preparations ahead of The Championships at Wimbledon, improve the strength of international player fields and avoid clashing with the Paris Paralympic Games.

The Lexus British Open will be one of a number of grass-court wheelchair tennis events played in the lead up to Wimbledon, with the Rothesay International at Eastbourne once again featuring an ITF wheelchair tournament, this year with a men’s women’s and quad division. The LTA has also today confirmed that a high- level disability tennis exhibition event will be held at the Queen’s Club over the final weekend of the cinch Championships, featuring international wheelchair players as well as Britain’s leading learning disability players.

Alfie Hewett, world no.1 said: “It’s great to have a full swing of grass-court events in the calendar this summer – it’s perfect preparation for the players before Wimbledon and a brilliant opportunity to showcase the sport during the iconic British grass-court season. I can’t wait to be out there playing in front of the home crowds, the support will be amazing for all the British players as we take on the very best wheelchair tennis players in the world.”

Tickets for all events are now on sale on the LTA website.

cinch Championships Qualifying & cinch Championships Fan Day

Tickets are also now on sale for the cinch Championships qualifying weekend which will be fully open to the public on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 June. Sunday 16 June will be a special ‘Fan Day’ in aid of the LTA Tennis Foundation. Ticket holders will be able to enjoy exhibition matches with top players, open practice sessions and the chance to watch players compete in qualifying for a place in the main draw.

Tickets will start from £5 (for under 16s) to £40 with all proceeds going to the Foundation, which aims to improve lives through tennis.  The LTA will make a quarter of tickets on Sunday available to local school and other charity groups at the special price of £15 for adults and £5 for children.

LTA Performance Competitions Calendar

Finally, the LTA has also today published the next five months of the LTA Performance Competitions Calendar.  This confirms the ITF World Tennis Tour, Junior and ITF Wheelchair events being hosted in Britain until the end of September, designed to provide British players with international level playing opportunities and the chance to earn ranking points and prize money on home soil.  There are now 32 professional ranking events for men and women (across ITF/ATP/WTA levels) staged in Britain this year from January through to September, with 14 international junior events for both boys and girls and seven international tournaments in the wheelchair category.

Highlights for the period July – September include a swing of 5 men’s ITF WTT M25 and 4 women’s W35 events back-to-back in Nottingham, the NTC and Aldershot. For Juniors there will be three J30 events at Bradfield and Loughborough as well as a Tennis Europe Cat 2 event at Aldershot for 14U and 12U boys and girls and the Lexus National Junior Championships for the same age groups in August.

With thanks to the LTA

International wheelchair tennis returns to Bolton Arena for the ninth time from Friday this week with Grand Slam champions and Paralympic medallists among more than 100 players from 22 countries due to contest the LTA’s Bolton Indoor ITF 3 and ITF 2 tournaments from 17-26 February.

Bolton hosted the first two British tournaments on the International Tennis Federation’s UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour for the first time in 2022, when a new Bolton Indoor ITF 3 event preceded the ITF 2 tournament that has attracted many of the world’s leading players since 2014.

This year’s ITF 3 tournament (17-21 February) is set to begin with British No.4 Dermot Bailey heading the home entry for the men’s singles and seeking to at least equal his 2022 performance, when he beat two seeds on his way to the men’s singles final.

The two seeds Bailey beat last year, Frederic Cattaneo of France and Japan’s Kouhei Suzuki, are among five players ranked inside the world’s top 20 that head this year’s men’s entry.

Reigning Wimbledon women’s doubles champion and world No.10 Dana Mathewson leads the entry for the women’s singles. Mathewson reached the finals of both the ITF 3 and ITF 2 tournaments last year, before finishing runner-up to British No.1 Lucy Shuker.

With Shuker only playing next week’s ITF 2 tournament, British No.3 Abbie Breakwell heads the domestic challenge for the women’s ITF 3 draw. 19-year-old Breakwell is one of several rising stars on the various tiers of the LTA’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Pathway who will contest the two tournaments.

Local interest comes from Manchester-based Robyn Love. The two-time Paralympian and World and European medallist in wheelchair basketball began her competitive wheelchair tennis career at last year’s Bolton Indoor ITF 3, winning her opening match and ending 2022 having won her first international singles and doubles titles as a tennis player. Love will begin this year’s Bolton Indoor tournaments at a career-best women’s singles ranking of No.66.

Love is part of the LTA’s Wheelchair Pro-Potential Programme, along with Breakwell and 20-year-old Greg Slade. Slade will lead the British challenge in the ITF 3 quad singles and doubles events, for players who have an impairment in three or more limbs, as he returns to Bolton Arena a year on from winning the biggest title of his career when partnering fellow Brit Andy Lapthorne to win the Bolton Indoor ITF 2 quad doubles title.

While there are plenty of defending and former singles and doubles champions among this year’s Bolton Indoor entry lists, this year’s ITF 3 event has a new Tournament Director in the form of two-time Paralympian and 2015 Bolton Indoor singles finalist and 2016 doubles champion Louise Hunt Skelley. Looking ahead to the start of this year’s tournament on Friday, Hunt Skelley said:

“As a former doubles champion and singles finalist in Bolton I’m really excited to have been entrusted with this new role by the LTA and I’m loving the new challenge. Bolton Indoor has aways been a hugely popular early-season tournament for players from across the world and the addition of the ITF 3 event last year has enhanced the range of opportunities available for earning ranking points. With more than 70 players from 21 countries contesting this year’s ITF 3 event it’s going to be another high-quality and fiercely competitive tournament.”

Bolton Indoor ITF 3 concludes with finals on Tuesday, 21 February, while the ITF 2 tournament (22-26 February) starts next Wednesday with 22-time Grand Slam champion and two-time former Bolton men’s singles champion Gordon Reid, defending women’s singles champion and three-time Paralympic medallist Lucy Shuker and 15-time Grand Slam quad singles and doubles champion Andy Lapthorne among the elite entry.

Updates during the Bolton Indoor ITF 3 and ITF 2 tournaments will be available on the LTA website at www.lta.org.uk and via the LTA’s Wheelchair Tennis social media channels at https://twitter.com/WChairTennisGB or https://www.facebook.com/GBWheelchairTennis/.

With thanks to the LTA

British tennis star Jordanne Whiley has today announced her retirement from the professional sport. Whiley, who has won a total of 13 Grand Slams and four Paralympic medals throughout her illustrious career, announced the news via her social media channels earlier today.

Citing wheelchair tennis as ‘the biggest chapter of [her] life’, Whiley noted how ‘there comes a time in everyone’s life where we must close the current chapter and move on to another’.

Adding that ‘Tokyo was the perfect ending to a successful career and [she] leave[s] the sport with no regrets and a heart filled with pride’, Whiley went on to thank a number of organisations, sponsors and individuals who have been a part of her team over the years, adding that it is ‘the right time to move on to other great things’.

Earlier this year, Whiley became the first British woman to win a singles tennis medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, adding an elusive bronze medal to her impressive collection and making history in the sport.

Born with brittle bone disease, Whiley first picked up a racket aged three years old and soon became Britain’s youngest ever national Women’s Singles tennis champion in 2007, at the age of just 14. Success continued to follow, as Whiley once again made tennis history in 2014 by becoming the first British player to win a calendar year Grand Slam – winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open respectively.

Whiley then went on to win her first Grand Slam singles title in 2015, a year which also saw her receive an MBE for services to wheelchair tennis in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. 2016 saw Whiley win a further two Grand Slams and a bronze medal in Rio, before adding another Wimbledon doubles title to her name whilst pregnant in 2017.

Early 2019 saw Whiley return to international tennis following the birth of her son Jackson, and followed the likes of Serena Williams by launching a highly successful comeback career – winning her 11th and 12th Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and US Open in 2020, before winning her 13th and final title at this year’s Wimbledon.

Following Whiley’s announcement on social media, a number of organisations – including the LTA, All England Lawn Tennis Club and the British Paralympic Association – have thanked Whiley for her incredible contribution to British sport and wished her well in her future endeavours.

With thanks to 2Tone Creative Services Ltd

The ParalympicsGB wheelchair tennis pair were beaten 6-0 6-1 by Dutch duo Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot in 67 minutes.

Whiley and Shuker first combined at Beijing 2008, when the former was just 16, and won back-to-back Paralympic bronze medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016.

With Whiley confirming this will be her last Paralympic Games, the pair can reflect on a long journey together in the sport.

“I was very young and inexperienced in Beijing and this is a completely different turn of events,” said Whiley.

“I’m proud of where we’ve come from. I was in a bad place in Rio which in turn made the partnership not great.

“To come from that to a place now where we’re on the podium and wanting it so badly for each other, I’m really pleased.

“We’re now the strongest we’ve ever been, this was our Games. We didn’t come away with gold but we’ve made a lot of improvements if I looked back five years ago.”

De Groot, who won singles gold to leave her on the brink of a Golden Slam in 2021, was particular impressive and her power proved too much to handle for the British pair.

Van Koot was also fired up having been beaten to singles bronze by Whiley, who won her maiden Paralympic medal flying solo on Friday night.

Shuker went to Centre Court to watch her partner claim victory and despite a quick turnaround, encouraged her to have no regrets.

“With the weather, the scheduling, it’s really tough for Jordanne,” she said. “To get to bed so late and have to prepare again for a big match today, it’s tough.

“I was lucky that I watched her but I went back and I was tucked up in bed.

“She deserved it, she got to the bronze medal of the singles which is a fantastic achievement. You can’t change that.”

Meanwhile, Gordon Reid beat Alfie Hewett in three sets to complete the set of Paralympic medals.

The Scot beat his close friend and doubles partner 6-4 3-6 7-5 in an emotionally charged two hour and 22-minute contest.

It was a repeat of the Rio 2016 final where Reid won gold and Hewett silver, another sign of the pair’s continued dominance of the sport.

“There have to be winners and losers and to be honest it doesn’t feel like I’m a winner today at the moment,” said Reid.

“But I’m sure that as soon as the emotions settle down, I’ll be proud of that fact that I’ve come here and won another singles medal.

“Also I now have the full collection of medals so that’s a cool thing.”

Neither player leaves Tokyo empty-handed with the pair winning men’s doubles silver just 24 hours earlier.

Hewett said: “I’m glad I came back from 5-2 [in the third set]. If I would have lost 6-2 that would have been a bit of a tough one to take.

“I lost myself with my emotions – understandable I think after the last 48 hours and everything going on.

“I managed to regroup and chill out a little bit – and play some of the tennis I wanted to play.

“I’m gutted I didn’t take my opportunities at 6-5, wishing I had maybe been a little bit more patient and composed, but that’s tennis.”

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB 

Whiley already holds two bronze medals alongside Lucy Shuker but now has an individual honour to go alongside doubles success, in her first Games since giving birth to son Jackson.

The 29-year-old has already confirmed that Tokyo 2020 will be her last Paralympics and has made sure she will go out in style with an intense 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 win over the Netherlands’ Aniek van Koot.

The tears immediately started flowing for Whiley as the final point was won, revelling in her new slice of ParalympicsGB history.

“I just said to myself at the end, ‘I did it.’ Obviously it’s not gold, but for me, this feels like gold,” she said.

“I’ve never done this before and given everything that’s happened in the last two years, came back, had a baby and struggled with getting back to fitness.

“Before I had Jackson, I was injured 24/7 and to get my body in a state where it can compete at the top level, I’m really proud of myself.

“She gave me everything today, both of us left everything out on the court. We were very neck-and-neck, that match could have gone either way. I just kept fighting.

“I was using my reserve tank, everything emotionally. I’ve never been on a singles podium and that was a really nerve-wracking experience. It’s such an amazing achievement for me personally.

“This is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”

But Whiley is far from done there, joining forces with Shuker to face Van Koot and Diede de Groot in Saturday’s gold-medal match.

The two are already guaranteed silver – their best Paralympic result as a pair – but the prospect of gold remains a tantalising one for Whiley.

“Just one more match and I’m going to give it absolutely everything again,” she added.

“She [Van Koot] is going to come at us all guns blazing, I expect. They’re an amazing team, they’re number one in the world for a reason.

“We’ve played them many times, so we know what to expect. We’ve just got to be on our A game.”

A dejected Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett missed out on gold but have another men’s doubles Paralympic silver to celebrate.

The British duo were top seeds in Tokyo but missed out 7-5, 0-6, 7-6(3) to Stéphane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer in a repeat of the Rio 2016 Paralympic final.

Reid and Hewett were up against it following the first set. But they stormed back, winning nine games in a row to hold the advantage in the decider before their French opponents recovered to win gold.

Reid said: “We’re devastated right now; we came here with one job to do and that was to win the gold.

“We both believed we were going to do it, we came in with brilliant form and tried so hard to change it from five years ago.

“It’s going to take a while for it to sink in, I’m just proud of the way we fought to the end. We backed each other up the whole way through the match. We win together, we lose together.”

The two aren’t done yet with one of them guaranteed to leave Tokyo with a Paralympic medal when they face off in Saturday’s men’s singles bronze-medal match.

Hewett added: “It’s a tough one to take. It’s so fresh right now – we couldn’t have asked for better form coming into this event, and some of the matches we’ve played this week have been close to our best tennis.

“I haven’t really thought about the singles yet. The emotion of that match was overwhelming, I think we both feel pretty deflated and flat and rightly so.

“It’ll be tough to pick ourselves up but there is a bronze medal on the line, there’s a lot still at stake.”

The ParalympicsGB pair are guaranteed at least a silver medal thanks to a straight-sets semi-final win over China’s Wang Ziying and Zhu Zhenzhen, making the most of their second-seed status to win 6-4 6-2.

But neither Whiley nor Shuker are here to settle for the middle spot on the podium.

No nation other than the Netherlands have won gold in either the women’s singles or women’s doubles at a Paralympic Games.

But when they face Dutch duo Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot on Saturday, the British duo – bronze medallists at both London 2012 and Rio 2016 – will have history on their mind.

“I think it’s a dream come true,” said Shuker of the gold-medal match. “Having won two bronzes in the previous Games is an achievement in itself.

“I think we’ve always been dreaming about having a gold or silver and we just put ourselves in the best place possible – we’re in the match.

“I’m just buzzing that we’ve done it together as a team. We’ve worked so hard together during that match and training.”

Whiley in particular will have had plenty of experience against her doubles opponents by the time they meet at the Ariake Tennis Park.

De Groot was victorious when the two played their singles semi-final while Friday’s contest with van Koot will decide who wins the bronze medal.

“It’s going to be a tough match – we know that. We’re ready for the challenge,” said Whiley.

“We’re in a great place and we’re playing really great tennis. We’re in the best place possible. We have the opportunity to win gold and we’re just going to do our best and leave it all out on the court.

“In Tokyo, we’re older and wiser and we’ve played almost 12 years together so I feel like now is our time.”

ParalympicsGB are guaranteed another two wheelchair tennis medals with Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid teaming up in the doubles before playing each for bronze in the men’s singles.

Reid was defending Paralympic singles champion from Rio 2016 but couldn’t get the better of top seed and tournament favourite Shingo Kunieda, losing out 6-3 6-2 in the last four.

“I think Shingo played amazing,” said Reid. “He played a great match, he gave me nothing cheap, he made me work for every point and unfortunately I couldn’t find the same level of performance as I found yesterday and the rest of the tournament.

“Obviously that’s disappointing but sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say you lost to a better player.

“I’ve been the underdog the last two matches and it was great to get through yesterday and now I’ve got another shot at getting on the podium in a couple of days’ time.”

Hewett was on the wrong end of a 6-4 7-6(5) scoreline against the Netherlands’ Tom Egberink, though the chance of back-to-back Paralympic singles medals remains a possibility.

Before they face off for bronze, Reid and Hewett will team up with an even greater prize in mind as they go for gold in the men’s doubles.

The pair won silver at Rio 2016 and will have a Paralympic rematch when they face defending champions Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer from France.

“We’ll be absolutely buzzing to get out there tomorrow and try and get the opportunity of getting a gold,” said Hewett. “Then we’ll be playing against each other for the bronze so that’ll be tough.

“We know each other very well. Right now, we’re going to try and channel our thoughts to tomorrow’s match because it’s still a big opportunity and we came here to get gold.”

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB

The two-time bronze medallists, who are seeded fourth at Tokyo 2020, defeated Kgothatso Montjane and Mariska Ventner of South Africa 6-2, 6-0 in Sunday’s quarter-final and will face unseeded Chinese pair Wang Ziying and Zhu Zhenzhen in Monday’s semi-finals.

Despite admitting to a difficult start, the pair won eight straight games against their South African foes to continue their hunt for gold.

Shuker said: “I think it’s the first time we’ve played against them as a pairing. They hit nice balls, they put some pressure on us.

“I think as soon as we found our game and put our pressure on and cut out the errors, we controlled it.”

And Whiley agreed, saying: “I feel like at the beginning, maybe it was a bit wobbly. We made quite a few errors, but we found it quite early on, and then we didn’t lose it.

“I’m really pleased with that performance. I think it’s a good opening because we’ve had times where we’ve lost it and that could have been quite a close match because they are two good players.

“So I’m quite pleased that we kept to what we were trying to do and, in the end, it came good.”

In the men’s doubles, number one seeds Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid got their Tokyo campaign off to the perfect start as they blitzed Austria’s Thomas Flax and Nico Langmann 6-0, 6-0 in the second round.

Greater challenges will lie ahead for the Rio 2016 silver medallists but Reid believes it was good to get their eye in ahead of a quarter-final against sixth seeds Joachim Gerard and Jef Vandorpe of Belgium.

“I thought it was a good first match for us,” said the Scot. “They made quite a lot of balls so we got a good feel for centre court together.

“It was good to get out there and experience what it’s like to play on that court. I thought we performed well, we were moving well, and it’s a good starting place to build from.”

Hewett added: “Playing the Belgians is going to be an extremely tough match. We’ve played against them a few times now and we know who we’re coming up against.

“It means we’re going to have to be playing some of our best tennis to get through them.”

The third British pair in action on Sunday – Andy Lapthorne and Antony Cotterill – suffered defeat in the quad doubles semi-finals as Dutch second seeds Sam Schroder and Niels Vink triumphed 6-0, 6-2.

However, Lapthorne and Cotterill still have a chance of a medal when they play Japan’s Mitsuteru Moroishi and Koji Sugeno in a shootout for bronze later this week.

Courtesy of ParalympicsGB 

Jordanne Whiley (Photo: LTA)

Organised by the LTA, the ITF 2 event on the global UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour saw a British clean sweep of the women’s titles this year after Whiley also partnered Lucy Shuker to win the women’s doubles title. Meanwhile quad singles finalist Andy Lapthorne partnered Antony Cotterill to another all-Brit victory in the quad doubles.

All three of Saturday’s singles champions secured victory in Bolton for the third time in the tournament’s seven-year history, world No.5 and top seed Whiley earning a 6-3, 6-1 victory over China’s Hui Min Huang to claim her first singles title of 2020.

Whiley, who won five of the last six games in the opening set and the last five games of the match to complete her victory over Huang in 58 minutes, said: “I’m very happy to win here again after reaching the final last year and just missing out in three sets. At the start of the week it wasn’t necessarily about winning, it’s been about the performances and trying out some new things I’ve been working on and I feel that’s gone really well, so it’s been a very successful week.”

While Whiley added to her previous Bolton Indoor titles won in 2015 and 2016, Olsson won in Bolton for the first time since claiming back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017. The Swedish second seed beat Britain’s Gordon Reid 6-2, 6-3, thereby also denying Reid a hattrick of titles in Bolton.

Also a two-time Wimbledon champion, Olsson said: “I played Gordon in Rotterdam last week and he beat me. But I think I tried a little bit too much in Rotterdam and my tactic today was just to be really calm and wait for my opportunities and I did that really well and served well too. England is a very lucky place for me and I have a great record here.”

Lapthorne and Schroder have shared the Bolton Indoor quad singles title between them in each of the last four years, but after snatching a close first set on Saturday it was the Dutch second seed who added a third victory, beating Lapthorne 7-6(3), 6-0. Schroder, the only one of the 2019 champions to retain a Bolton Indoor title this time, said: “It’s been a very good week for me. I’ve played Andy a lot of times in the last year and it’s always a tough match against him. Today I felt I made quite a few errors in the first set, but I cut out the errors in the second set and that’s reflected in the score.”

Reigning US Open champion Lapthorne, who partnered Cotterill to a 3-6, 6-1, (10-8) victory over fellow Brit Richard Green and Schroder in Friday’s quad doubles final, said: “It’s been a good week again here in Bolton. I set out with some specific goals from my most recent training block and I feel I played well in the first set today. I just need to go away and improve now ahead of playing tournaments in the USA next month.”

The women’s doubles saw Shuker and Whiley justify top seeding in their second final of 2020, earning a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Germany’s Katharina Kruger and the USA’s Dana Mathewson to claim their third Bolton Indoor title together since 2014. Shuker said: “I’m happy with how the week has gone and to end with the doubles title is really nice. I don’t think we played particularly well yesterday in our semi-final. Not to take anything away from our opponents, but there were things to work on. But we came back today and executed the game plan really well and it’s promising for the rest of the year ahead.”

In the men’s doubles Bailey and Reid reached their first final in their first tournament playing together outside of World Team Cup competition. However, having beaten the second seeds earlier the week, the Brits found Martin de la Puente of Spain and Olsson a tough proposition and the top seeds took the title 6-3, 6-2.

Saturday’s action in Bolton also included the first of two days of competition in the Bolton Indoor Junior Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, which has ITF status for the first time this year. Featuring Britain’s top young players as well as players from France, Israel and the Netherlands, the junior tournament concludes today with Ben Bartram facing  Dahnon Ward in the boys’ singles final and Abbie Breakwell playing Ruby Bishop in the girls’ singles final.

To find out more about the LTA’s work with disability tennis, head to www.lta.org.uk/play or email disabilitytennis@lta.org.uk.

Reigning US Open champion Alfie Hewett faces a rematch of September’s men’s singles final in New York against world No. 1 Shingo Kunieda when the four-strong Brit wheelchair tennis challenge begins on Wednesday at the Australian Open.

While Hewett begins his bid for back-to-back Grand Slam singles crowns against Japan’s defending Australian Open champion, 2016 champion and fellow Brit Gordon Reid will play Stephane Houdet of France, the 2018 runner-up to Kunieda at Melbourne Park.

Ahead of his first match since winning the US Open in September, world No.3 Hewett said: “I’ve come back from having a break and I’m feeling motivated to perform and where that leads I’m excited to find out. I’ve had an intense training period leading up to Australia. My fitness was always maintained, so physically I feel like I’m fresh and in a good place. However, when you take time away from the sport its surprising how quickly you lose little things about your game. So I’ve had to work hard to get back up to a level where I feel like I can really challenge for the title.”

World No.7 Reid won the first Grand Slam singles title of his career in Australia three years ago and is relishing his return to Melbourne, which will see him play world No.3 Houdet in his opening singles and doubles matches. He said:

“I love coming back to Melbourne Park, they have improved the facilities once again and it’s fantastic for all the players. Seeing the singles trophy up close again during the draw ceremony brought back great memories from 2016.”

While Hewett begins his 2019 season this week, Reid has already played two tournaments this season, the first of which brought his latest Super Series doubles title when he partnered Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez to win the Bendigo Open. He now turns his attention to attempting to win back-to-back Grand Slam doubles titles with Hewett as the two-time US Open and three-time Wimbledon champions reunite.

“Over the last few months I’ve played with a few different partners while Alfie had his break. So I’m looking forward to being back on the doubles court with him and aiming to win our first Aussie Open doubles title as a team,”

Hewett and Reid will play Houdet and Australian Ben Weekes in their semi-final.

Five-timeAustralian Open doubles champion Andy Lapthorne opens his bid for a first quad singles title at Melbourne Park against his doubles partner and world No.2 David Wagner of the USA. Lapthorne was runner-up to Wagner at last week’s ITF 1 Melbourne Open.

World No.3 and 2014 US Open quad singles champion Lapthorne, who was runner-up to Wagner at last week’s ITF 1 Melbourne Open, said: “I feel like I’m playing OK right now and getting some good results and performances, so I’m looking forward to really trying to bring my best tennis to the singles court this year. It’s always a buzz coming back to Australia and knowing I’ve won lots of titles here and I’m looking to add to that this week. As far as David and I go in doubles, we are a good team and well prepared for our latest chance at another Grand Slam together.”

After facing Wagner, Lapthorne will also play Australians Dylan Alcott and Heath Davidson in the four-ay round robin phase of the quad singles competition The top two players after the round-robin will go forward to Saturday’s quad singles final. Later this week Lapthorne and Wagner will also play Alcott and Davidson as the Anglo-American duo and reigning US Open champions attempt to win their fourth Australian Open quad doubles title in six years.

Of the four Brits competing in the wheelchair events at Melbourne Park this week world No. 7 Shuker has the most experience of the first Grand Slam of the year. Shuker will be playing her tenth Australian Open and faces a tough assignment in her opening women’s singles match on Wednesday when she takes on world No.1 Diede de Groot. She said:

“I’m extremely proud to have qualified for this Grand Slam for the tenth time. It’s a stat I can be proud of. I’ve had some great results and performances here over the years, being twice a singles semi-finalist and twice a doubles finalist. The Australian Open is definitely one of my favourite tournaments in the calendar, there is always a real buzz in Melbourne during the Slam.”

After contesting her latest Grand Slam doubles final at Wimbledon last July partnering Germany’s Sabine Ellerbrock, Shuker partners South Africa’s Kgothatso Montjane this week. Shuker and Montjane will play Ellerbrock and Dutchwoman Marjolein Buis in their semi-final.

Courtesy of the LTA