The Rules of Tennis
This site was launched around the concept of a sequential deep dive into the ITF Rules of Tennis. At the time, I had anticipated that discussion of Wheelchair Tennis might be omitted altogether. However, it became a topic that was impossible to ignore after the backlash against the USTA for attempting to eliminate Wheelchair Tennis draws from the US Open in 2020. Today marks the final post on the rules of Wheelchair Tennis before moving into the next section of the ITF Rules of Tennis. I am happy to have made the journey.
As I have examined the Rules of Wheelchair Tennis, my appreciation for playing adaptive sports has been dramatically enhanced. I made a point of watching some wheelchair matches streamed from the Australian Open and found myself following the results and watching the highlight clips released by the tournament organizers. It is yet another variation of tennis that I genuinely enjoy watching. In retrospect that isn’t a surprise, I pretty much like all forms of tennis.
Along the way through this section of the rules, I lamented the fact that one of my long time co-workers passed away before I returned to tennis. My friend Michael was in a wheelchair due to an accident he suffered when he was in his early 20s. He played tennis casually, first picking up the game as he satisfied the PE credits required when he returned to college to complete his degree. Michael always extolled the virtues of how the adaptive rules in tennis allow wheelchair players to compete head to head with able-bodied players. Today we have reached the section in the rules that summarizes that fact.
Where a wheelchair tennis player is playing with or against an able-bodied person in singles or doubles, the Rules of Wheelchair Tennis shall apply for the wheelchair player while the Rules of Tennis for able-bodied tennis shall apply for the able-bodied player. In this instance, the wheelchair player is allowed two bounces while the able-bodied player is allowed only one bounce.
USTA Friend at Court, ITF Rules of Tennis, Rules of Wheelchair Tennis, item g.
Tennis is one of the few adaptive sports where wheelchair and able-bodied players can compete head to head. In fact, a doubles match may have any combination of Wheelchair and able-bodied players. The Wheelchair players simply play according to their rules and the able-bodied players play to the standard Rules of Tennis. It is elegantly simple.
Tennis is one of the best sports for able-bodied persons. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that it is also a great sport for adaptive athletes.
- United States Tennis Association (2021), Friend at Court: Handbook of Rules and Regulations, White Plains, NY
