The All England Club and The Tennis Foundation are pleased to announce that this year’s Wimbledon Championships will include an inaugural Women’s Wheelchair Doubles Tournament.
Wheelchair tennis has proved highly popular with spectators at The Championships since the first men’s doubles exhibition was staged in 2001.
The popularity has further increased since the first Wimbledon Men’s Wheelchair Doubles in 2005 and the sport is now firmly established at all four Grand Slams.
Wheelchair tennis has proved highly popular with spectators at The Championships since the first men’s doubles exhibition was staged in 2001.
The popularity has further increased since the first Wimbledon Men’s Wheelchair Doubles in 2005 and the sport is now firmly established at all four Grand Slams.
This year’s first women’s event will follow the same format as the men’s doubles, with four of the world’s leading women’s doubles partnerships competing for the top tier of world ranking points in an event sanctioned by the ITF as part of the global NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour.
The new women’s doubles event has been warmly received by Martina Navratilova, the winner of a record 20 Wimbledon titles along with Billie Jean King, and Esther Vergeer, world No.1 women’s wheelchair tennis player.
"It's been my privilege to be involved in and support various wheelchair tennis development events and initiatives over many years now and I'm delighted to see how the sport has become such an integral and popular part of all the Grand Slams, especially at Wimbledon,” said Navratilova.
“I applaud The All England Club for inviting the advent of a women's doubles event at The Championships this year and believe it is absolutely the right time for this new event. A Wimbledon title is the ultimate in our sport and I'm thrilled that the word's top women wheelchair players will now have the opportunity of winning one."
