British Open Wheelchair Tennis: Wimbledon champions & Rio medal hopes
Britain’s Wimbledon champions Gordon Reid, Alfie Hewett and Jordanne Whiley are among 25 world top 10 ranked players aiming to boost their Rio 2016 Paralympic aspirations when the 27th British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships takes place at Nottingham Tennis Centre from 26 to 31 July.
Organised by the Tennis Foundation, the British Open is also the last Super Series event before the Rio 2016 Paralympics and therefore the tournament likely to have the most influence on the seeding for the medal events at Rio between now and the Games.
Reid, will aim for a unique double in Nottingham this year after winning the inaugural men’s singles event at Wimbledon just two weeks ago, watched by a peak TV audience of more than one million people. He said:
“I’ve had an amazing few weeks and I’m looking forward to playing here in Nottingham and competing for my first British Open singles title. It’s always a great event and hopefully with the popularity of our sport on the rise we will get lots of people coming along to watch and cheer us on."
Whiley returns to Nottingham 12 months on from becoming the first Brit to win a Super Series women’s singles title at the British Open. She added:
“The British Open in Nottingham will always hold fond memories having won my first Super Series singles title here last year. That gave me the confidence to go on and win at the US Open and I’m hoping for a similar outcome this year heading into Rio.”