Paris Paralympics 2024: Wheelchair Tennis Back In The Spotlight As Google Doodle Brings Back Cute Toon

Wheelchair tennis at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games is being held from August 30 to September 7 at Roland Garros Stadium, renowned for its historic clay courts.

Google Doodle Today: Google is honouring the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games with a special series of animated Doodles, spotlighting various sports featured in the event. Today’s Doodle re-showcases wheelchair tennis to highlight the second day of the event, represented by Google’s unique, colourful bird characters engaged in a lively tennis match set against what appears to be a picturesque Parisian garden, reminiscent of Jardin du Palais Royal or Jardin des Tuileries.

Wheelchair Tennis At The 2024 Paris Paralympics: Key Details

Wheelchair tennis at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games is being held from August 30 to September 7 at Roland Garros Stadium, renowned for its historic clay courts. Athletes will compete in singles and doubles categories across men’s, women’s, and quads divisions.

The competition follows strict qualification rules set by the National Paralympic Committees (NPCs), allowing a maximum of eleven slots per NPC. These slots are divided among four men and four women for singles, three for quad singles, two teams for both men’s and women’s doubles, and one team for quad doubles. Qualification slots are directly awarded to individual athletes based on their current standings on the Wheelchair Tennis Singles World Ranking list, and players must have participated in the World Team Cup at least twice between 2021 and 2024, including once in either 2023 or 2024.

The Origin Of Wheelchair Tennis

Wheelchair tennis has grown significantly since its inception, maintaining the core aspects of traditional tennis while adapting rules to cater to athletes with disabilities. The sport was pioneered by Brad Parks, a former acrobatic skier who became paralysed and began exploring tennis as a wheelchair sport in 1976. The primary modification in wheelchair tennis is the allowance of up to two bounces before the ball must be returned, setting it apart from the single bounce rule in able-bodied tennis.

Since its Paralympic debut in 1992 in Barcelona, wheelchair tennis has gained a firm place in adaptive sports, evolving to be included in major tennis tournaments worldwide. Starting in 2007, wheelchair matches have been played alongside traditional events at all four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. 

The sport’s presence at the 2024 Paralympics continues to highlight its global appeal and the athletic prowess of its competitors, reflecting the ongoing evolution and recognition of adaptive sports on the world stage.