Paris Paralympics 2024: Wheelchair Tennis Celebrated By Google Doodle Today. Check It Out

Paralympics 2024: The wheelchair tennis events are taking place from August 30 to September 7 at the Roland Garros Stadium.

Wheelchair tennis has grown into one of the world's most popular adaptive sports, blending the traditional elements of tennis with unique modifications.

Source : Google

Google Doodle Today: Google is celebrating the Paris Paralympic Games 2024 with a series of animated Doodles, releasing new cartoons each day to celebrate the event. Today’s Doodle features Google's now-signature Paralympic-themed birds, adding a vibrant touch to the ongoing series. 

Check out the Google Doodle today:

As you can see, the Doodle shows two bird athletes trying to pull an ace on each other in a background that looks like the pristine Parisian garden of Jardin du Palais Royal or Jardin des Tuileries.

Wheelchair Tennis At Paralympics 2024: Dates, Venue, Teams

The 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France, features wheelchair tennis events, taking place from August 30 to September 7 at the Roland Garros Stadium, known for its iconic clay courts. The competition includes singles and doubles matches across men’s, women’s, and quads categories.

National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) have specific guidelines for athlete participation, with a maximum of eleven qualification slots available per NPC. This includes up to four male and four female athletes for singles events, three for quad singles, two teams each for men’s and women’s doubles, and one team for quad doubles.

These slots are awarded directly to individual athletes, not to the committees, and all participants must hold a current ranking on the Wheelchair Tennis Singles World Ranking list. Additionally, athletes must have competed in a World Team Cup event at least twice between 2021 and 2024, with one of those appearances being in either 2023 or 2024.

Wheelchair Tennis: A Quick History

Wheelchair tennis has grown into one of the world's most popular adaptive sports, blending the traditional elements of tennis with unique modifications that make it accessible to players with disabilities. The sport traces its roots back to 1976 when Brad Parks, a former acrobatic skier who became paralyzed after a skiing accident, began experimenting with playing tennis in a wheelchair. 

Unlike other adaptive sports, wheelchair tennis is remarkably similar to its conventional counterpart, as players use the same courts, rackets, and tennis balls. The primary difference lies in the rule allowing wheelchair players up to two bounces before returning the ball, compared to just one bounce for able-bodied athletes, as outlined by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Since making its Paralympic debut in 1992 at the Barcelona Games, wheelchair tennis has been a staple of adaptive sports competitions. The sport's integration into major tennis tournaments began in 2007, allowing wheelchair tennis matches to be held alongside conventional events at Grand Slam tournaments, including the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.