Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/1537476
Our work encompasses a thriving professional tour and team compe on, and grassroots development projects to grow the playing base and ensure that wheelchair tennis improves the lives and is played by as many people as possible. Exposure is vital to increase the worldwide footprint of wheelchair tennis, and coupled with its growing profile at the Grand Slam tournaments, the sport benefited from the global spotlight of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games where our players took centre stage (see page 19 for more). Greater rewards and opportuni es On the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, we con nued to invest in prize money increases in 2024, offering a total of $5.95 million, a record for the second successive year. We staged 164 tournaments – close to the record 168 events held in 2023 – across 36 countries. The ITF is commi ed to growing wheelchair tennis at every level of the game, from playground to podium. Wheelchair tennis Tours & Player Pathway In line with our goal of improving the pathway for talented juniors, these included 21 junior-only tournaments, up from 12 in 2023. At the elite level, Roland Garros became the second Grand Slam tournament to hold a junior wheelchair tennis event, joining the US Open in providing this opportunity. The Australian Open added the event for 2025. We moved all player entries for UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour events onto our centralised IPIN pla orm in 2024, bringing the tour in line with our other four tours and streamlining the entry process for players and tournament organisers. Linked to this, we consulted with our stakeholders to update the wheelchair tennis regula ons, and a new version was adopted for 2025. Na on footprint grows A record 52 na ons took part in the BNP Paribas World Team Cup, the wheelchair tennis equivalent of Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. One hundred teams competed across the men, women, quad and juniors compe ons. Great Britain, China, Chile and USA li ed the respec ve trophies at the World Group event held in Antalya, Turkiye. Inves ng in growth The ITF invested more than $600,000 in 2024 to develop and grow wheelchair tennis. We awarded grants to 33 na ons to support their grassroots and junior ac vi es, and to 24 na ons to support UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour events in their countries. We also provided funding for 22 individuals in need of financial assistance to compete on the tour. Addi onally, and new for 2024, 10 wheelchair tennis players showing 26 2024 ITF Annual Review