The games Paris Paralympics will end this week, but until the closing ceremony arrives, wheelchair tennis players are competing for medals at the legendary Roland Garros stadium.
On Saturday 7 September, the same day the Paralympics end, the gold medal will be played in the men’s individual division.
The gold medal match in the women’s wheelchair tennis singles division will be played on Friday at 6:30 pm between the Netherlands and Japan. The bronze medal match for the singles will be between China and the Netherlands on the same day at 5:00 pm.
WHAT IS THE WHEELCHAIR TENNIS COMPETITION LIKE?
Wheelchair tennis follows the same rules as tennis for able-bodied people, except that the ball can bounce twice before the player hits it back, explains the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games page.
“Athletes are divided into two categories: the ‘open’ class, for athletes with permanent impairment in one or both legs but with normal arm function, and the ‘quadriceps’ class, for athletes with additional restrictions in the arm they play with, limiting their ability to handle a racket and wheelchair,” the Paralympic Games explain.
Medals will also be up for grabs in wheelchair tennis for both men and women at the Paris Paralympic Games.
As well as the men’s individual quadriceps, and the women’s double quadriceps.
The Netherlands pair won gold in the men’s quadriceps competition on Wednesday afternoon, September 4, with the British team taking silver and South Africa the bronze.
WHO CAN COMPETE IN WHEELCHAIR TENNIS
According to the rules explaining the Paralympic Games, athletes with paraplegia, quadriplegia and equivalents can participate.
They also admit people who have inferior and equivalent prostheses, physical disabilities that limit movement.
