Tennis

Athlete Eligibility and Classification

Tennis competition at the Paralympic Games accommodates athletes who use manual wheelchairs, all of whom participate in a single classification. The only eligibility requirement is a permanent substantial or total loss of function in one or both legs due to conditions such as spinal injury, ankylosis, amputation, or other lower limb disability. Although only one classification is offered at the Paralympic Games, the International Wheelchair Tennis Federation (IWTF) also recognizes divisions at other major competitions for players with quadriplegia and players who use power wheelchairs.

Tennis players who compete in Special Olympics events must have a primary diagnosis of mental retardation. They are classified according to a process called divisioning in which athletes are grouped by ability level for competition. Divisioning is described on the SOI web site at http://www.specialolympics.org. Click on "games and competitions," then choose "general rules" from the drop-down menu, then go to "Section V - Special Olympics Divisioning."

Athletes who are deaf compete under CISS rules which require a minimum hearing loss of 55 dB in the better ear. Classification procedures and criteria are described on the CISS web site at http://www.ciss.org. Click on "about," then "regulations," then scroll down to Article 1.3 on eligibility.

Events

Events at the Paralympic Games include men's and women's singles and doubles competition.

Official events in Special Olympics competition include singles, doubles, Unified Sports doubles, and individual skills competition (combined score from the racket bounce, "ups," forehand volley, backhand volley, forehand groundstroke, backhand groundstroke, serve deuce court, serve advantage court, and alternating groundstrokes with movement). Special Olympics also offers the target stroke, target bounce, racket bounce, and return shot for athletes with lower ability levels.

Deaflympics competition includes men's and women's singles, as well as men's, women's, and coed doubles.

Playing Area

Tennis competition at the Paralympic Games, World Special Olympics Games, and Deaflympics is conducted on a regulation court as defined by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The court is 78 feet long by 27 feet wide for singles competition, and 78 feet long by 36 feet wide for doubles competition. The net at the center of the court is 3 feet high. The ITF rules specify the placement and width of boundary lines and other court markings.

Illustration from the Advantage Tennis web site
(http://www.advantagetennis.net/sizes.html)

Rules

The rules of tennis are proscribed by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and are posted on the ITF web site at http://www.ifttennis.com. Those rules are briefly summarized on the U.S. Olympic Committee web site (http://www.usoc.org) as follows. Click on "tennis" from the "select a sport" menu, then choose "rules."

The ITF rules are observed in wheelchair tennis competition at the Paralympic Games with these exceptions:

The ITF rules are observed in at the Special Olympics World Games and the Deaflympics without exceptions.

Equipment

Links