Wheelchair tennis at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Wheelchair tennis at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Date:		9–16 September 2016
Edition:		8th
Category:		Super Series
Location:		Olympic Tennis Centre, Rio
Wheelchair tennis at the Summer Paralympics  < 2012 2020 >

Wheelchair tennis events at the 2016 Summer Paralympics will be held between 8–16 September at Olympic Tennis Centre, Rio. This will be the seventh full Paralympic wheelchair tennis competition since the event was introduced in 1992, having been a demonstration event in 1988.

Classification

Players were classified according to the type and extent of their disability, and within that system according to gender.

The classification system allows players to compete against others with a similar level of function. All wheelchair tennis athletes must have a major or total loss of function in one or both legs to take part in the sport. further to that, there are two broad categorisations within wheelchair tennis; paraplegic players, with full arm function who play in gendered events, and quadiplegic ("quad tennis") players with restrictions in arm function, where no gender division occurs.

Qualification

A National Paralympic Committee (NPC) can enter a maximum of four qualified male athletes and four qualified female athletes in the men’s and women’s singles events, respectively and a maximum of three qualified athletes in the quad singles.

An NPC can enter a maximum of two qualified men’s teams and two qualified women’s teams, each containing two athletes, in the men’s and women’s doubles events, respectively, and a maximum of one qualified team of two athletes in the quad doubles - (mixed gender)

An NPC can be allocated a maximum of four male and four female qualification slots for athletes competing in the men’s and women’s events, and no more than three qualification slots in the quad sport class for a maximum quota allocation of eleven qualification slots per NPC. As such, doubles pairings in the larger teams must be made from the qualified singles players of that team.^[1]

The majority of the qualifiers will be chosen by rankings on 23 May 2016. A smaller number will be chosen by the Bipartite Commission, while the host country will also be allocated quota places. A small number of direct qualiifers will also be allocated places from continental games.

Qualifiers for the Paralympic Games 2016 - Wheelchair Tennis[1]
Qualification Method	Men	Women	Quad	Totals
ITF Wheelchair Tennis Regional Games Direct Allocation	2014 Asian Para Games Incheon, South Korea		N/A	2
	Japan	Thailand
	2015 Parapan American Games Toronto, Canada		N/A	2
	Argentina	Brazil
ITF Wheelchair Tennis Singles Rankings 23 May 2016	34	22	12	68
Bipartite Commission	12	8	4	24
ITF Wheelchair Tennis Doubles Rankings 23 May 2016	8	N/A	N/A	8

Events

Six events will be contested:

• Men's singles
• Men's doubles
• Women's singles
• Women's doubles
• Quad singles
• Quad doubles

(Quadriplegic class players are not divided by gender)

Competition schedule

Competition lasts from 9 to 16 September.

OC

Opening ceremony

Competition

●

Event finals

CC

Closing ceremony

September 2016	7 Wed	8 Thu	9 Fri	10 Sat	11 Sun	12 Mon	13 Tue	14 Wed	15 Thu	16 Fri	17 Sat	18 Sun	Gold medals
Wheelchair Tennis	OC						●	●	●  ●	●  ●		CC	6

References

• Wheelchair Tennis at the from the International Paralympic Committee

1. Qualification System - Wheelchair Tennis, from itftennis.com