Sri Lanka hosts its first international wheelchair tennis tournament
The world is moving at a fast pace and developments are being made, even in the sports department. Tennis has come a long way from what it was in the past. At first, it was a game played between two healthy men/women only. Gradually, as the world advanced further, women’s tennis also came to the fore. Now all kinds of tennis tournaments are being played all over the world which includes categories for men, women, boys and girls. There are also matches held for those in a wheelchair. Yes, no one should be deprived of the chance to participate in sports which includes the handicapped.
The founder of wheelchair tennis is Brad Parks. He hit a tennis ball while sitting in a wheelchair and realised that there was tremendous potential in this sport. Consequently in 1976, wheelchair tennis became an official sport. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) recognises this sport and has assigned to it the same rules as regular tennis. The only exception being that in wheelchair tennis, the player is allowed two bounces per shot, as opposed to one bounce in regular tennis. It is being played on regular tennis courts on normal surfaces.
Wheelchair tennis is a growing sport and is gaining popularity amongst wheel-bound individuals. This is considered to be a very serious sport and a number of international wheelchair tennis tournaments are being held each year. The NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour originated in 1992 and at that time, the body organised eleven tournaments. It has grown up to 120 events, which take place all over the world.
It is with great pride and honour that the government of Sri Lanka has announced that they will be hosting their first ever International Wheelchair Tennis tournament. The event will be taking place in Colombo, from the 16th of July till the 18th of July. Sri Lanka lies nearby the southern coast of India and Colombo, being its largest city, is the best venue for this grand event.
Countries like India and Malaysia have confirmed that their players will be participating in this event. Hosts’ Sri Lanka has also declared that they will be a part of the tournament and why wouldn’t they be, as it is indeed quite a big deal for Sri Lanka to be organizing such an international event for the first time. Sri Lanka will be represented by Upali Rajakaruna and D M Gamini, who are currently ranked at the top in Sri Lankan wheelchair tennis rankings.
This grand event is being arranged by the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) and they are pleased to be the ones to have been chosen to host the first Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships in Sri Lanka. The SSC are particularly proud because the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has certified that it is an appropriate venue for this tournament.
Currently, the most dominant sport being played in Sri Lanka is cricket. Even the SSC is majorly concentrated towards developing cricket in Sri Lanka. Thus, seeing them organize an international wheelchair tennis tournament is a major breakthrough, as it aids to the fact that they are working on developing sports in Sri Lanka other than cricket.
The club itself has told the press that this tournament is being hosted to promote the great game of tennis in a small nation like that of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka realises the need to encourage different sports in the country and sees this international event as a great way to accomplish this.
Along with being the first-ever international wheelchair tennis tournament, this event will mark the debut of tennis on clay courts in Sri Lanka. Hence, this championship is a step forward for the Sri Lankan nation in the professional world of wheelchair tennis.
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