ITF

ITF WHEELCHAIR TENNIS CIRCUIT Wheelchair tennis entered an exciting new era in 2014 as UNIQLO and the ITF announced a three-year sponsorship agreement. UNIQLO became title sponsor of the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour and Wheelchair Doubles Masters, as well as an international sponsor of the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters. The launch of the partnership was attended by UNIQLO Global Brand Ambassadors Novak Djokovic, Shingo Kunieda and Kei Nishikori. Kunieda ended the year as ITF World Champion for the sixth time, securing the accolade long before claiming his third successive NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters title in front of a sell-out crowd at the event's new home in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. Kunieda completed 2014 on a 49-match winning streak, having only been beaten once all year. His successes included a second consecutive Asian Para Games gold medal, earning him automatic qualification for the Rio 2016 Paralympics. Thailand's Sakhorn Khanthasit also earned qualification for Rio after her second Asian Para Games gold medal, having upset world No. 1 Yui Kamiji in the semifinals. A largely dominant year for Kamiji saw her join Kunieda in securing Japanese doubles at Roland Garros and the US Open en route to ending 2014 as ITF World Champion for the first time. But while Kamiji came up short at the Asian Para Games, she was also not at her best at the NEC Masters as Aniek van Koot became champion for the first time. Van Koot's success came at the end of a year that saw her fellow Dutchwoman, five-time Paralympic medallist and three-time ITF World Champion Chantal Vandierendonck, make history as the first female wheelchair tennis player to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2014. Other notable landmarks included Kamiji and Jordanne Whiley becoming the first non-Dutch partnership to complete a calendar year Grand Slam of women's doubles titles. Meanwhile, Frenchman Stephane Houdet became the first men's wheelchair player to win all four Grand Slam doubles titles in the same season. Houdet ended his doubles campaign for 2014 by partnering Joachim Gerard to victory at the UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters, where Kamiji and Whiley also retained their title. American duo Nick Taylor and David Wagner won their eighth quad doubles title, with Wagner clinching his seventh NEC Masters title and ending 2014 as year-end No. 1 quad singles player for the seventh time. The BNP Paribas World Team Cup was held in Alphen, Netherlands. France successfully defended the men's trophy, Netherlands won a 27th women's title, while Great Britain regained the quad title in a dramatic final against the USA. Russia also won its first World Team Cup title in the junior competition, while Belgium emerged victorious in World Group II to earn promotion to the World Group for 2015. With the continued and invaluable support of the Johan Cruyff Foundation, the Wheelchair Tennis Development Fund had seen 41 projects initiated by 2014, with new projects launched in Botswana and Tanzania, Colombia and Cambodia for 2014-15. In partnership with the Agitos Foundation, projects to promote wheelchair tennis among potential women and quad players in Central and South America also included visits to Brazil and Guatemala, with another project in 2014 focusing on developing wheelchair tennis in the Caribbean. The Brad Parks Award was awarded to Stig Ericson of Sweden, Vice President of the International Wheelchair Tennis Association and a member of the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Committee from 1998 to 2009. The presentation of the award, in recognition of Ericson's immense contribution to wheelchair tennis, was made shortly before he passed away after a long illness. DEVELOPMENT: ITF WHEELCHAIR TENNIS CIRCUIT 25

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