Activity Alliance team member Jayant Mistry honoured at Wimbledon
Jayant, former British number one singles player and the first Wimbledon wheelchair men's doubles champion in 2005 was honoured at Wimbledon this year. We are also proud to call him our colleague at Activity Alliance.
The four-time Paralympian was presented with his LTA colour by David Rawlinson, fromer president of the LTA, alongside Jordanne Whiley (278) and Peter Norfolk (242). Just over 300 people sit in the prestigious club, with the list including Fred Perry (79), Virginia Wade (144) and Andy Murray (256). LTA Colour Holders are a group who have represented Great Britain at Tennis over the last 125 years.
Jayant, Impact and Learning Advisor at Activity Alliance, supports teams to embed better practices in their work. His sterling career on court has been followed by a dedication to tennis and disability sport.
The winner of the inaugural Grand Slam doubles title at the Australian Open in 2002 (with Robin Ammerlaan from the Netherlands) and the inaugural Wimbledon Doubles Championships in 2005 (with Michael Jeremiasz of France) he represented Great Britain at four consecutive Paralympic Games from Barcelona 1992 to Athens 2004. He received his colour, number 192, at an event in the LTA President’s Suite at Wimbledon’s Number One Court last week.
Jayant said:
“I have been involved in disability sport all my life. But the thing that has really helped shape who I am today was discovering wheelchair tennis when it was first introduced to the UK. This was back in 1986 while playing my first love, wheelchair basketball, at the national games at Stoke Mandeville. I never thought that just by playing tennis at my local park with friends would have taken me on the journey to having represented my country for 20 years including four Paralympic Games.
“I am enormously grateful to everyone who has been (and continue to be) part of this journey. Ever since retiring from competing in 2007, I have found my spiritual home working for Activity Alliance. A big thank you to the LTA for this incredible honour and recognition, and congratulations to everyone, who are LTA Colours holders now and will be in the future.”
LTA Colour status is achieved when a player represents Great Britain on court for the first time. From the early days of the programme, Colours have been awarded to both females and males who have represented Britain. Following the creation of wheelchair tennis and its subsequent growth to become a professional sport, World Team Cup representatives and Paralympians have been included as Colour Holders.
Jayant’s career in tennis did not end when he stopped playing. He was wheelchair tennis manager at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. He also continued to coach and now commentates at Wimbledon. He will be sharing his expertise on the microphone at this year’s Paralympic Games in Paris.
You can find the full list of all Colour Holders on the LTA website.
