When and where to watch wheelchair tennis paralympics 2024: Schedule, channels and streaming

The latest Google Doodle featured two animated birds—one brown and one blue—playing tennis in wheelchairs at the Jardin des Tuileries in France. This lively animation celebrated the ongoing wheelchair tennis tournament at the Paris wheelchair tennis paralympics 2024. The birds rallied back and forth, showcasing their skills, and paying tribute to the sport’s growing popularity.

Wheelchair tennis has seen tremendous growth since it became an official sport nearly five decades ago. It’s no longer just a niche activity; it’s an inclusive sport embraced by people of all ages and abilities, showing that tennis is for everyone.

Google’s Doodle perfectly captured this spirit, with the caption: “Ace attitudes and stellar serves. Wheelchair Tennis starts today at Stade Roland-Garros!” Roland Garros Stadium, known for hosting the French Open, is now the stage for the Paralympic wheelchair tennis events, which will run through September 7. These matches are played on the same red clay courts as the French Open, using standard-sized courts, rackets, and tennis balls, with the net standing three feet high.

The main rule difference in wheelchair tennis paralympics 2024 tennis is the “two-bounce rule.” Unlike traditional tennis, where players must return the ball before it bounces twice, wheelchair tennis players can allow up to two bounces. This rule accommodates the extra challenge of maneuvering a wheelchair on the court with skill and speed.

The 2024 Paris Paralympics feature a range of wheelchair tennis events, including singles and doubles draws for men and women. There are also Quad draws for players with impairments affecting both upper and lower limbs, requiring additional adaptations in their game.

Wheelchair tennis began after Brad Parks, paralyzed from the hips down in a 1976 skiing accident, teamed up with Jeff Minnebraker to develop the sport. They pushed through obstacles to establish wheelchair tennis as a prominent feature of the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. Today, the International Tennis Federation Wheelchair Tennis Tour hosts over 150 events globally, and the sport is a Paralympic staple.

France was the first European country to establish an official wheelchair tennis program in the 1980s, and the sport made its Paralympic debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Since then, the competition has expanded significantly, featuring some of the world’s best athletes.

This year’s Paralympic wheelchair tennis field is stacked with talent. In men’s singles, top players include Alfie Hewett from Great Britain, Martin De La Puente from Spain, Gustavo Fernandez from Argentina, and Japan’s Tokito Oda, who’s seen as the successor to Japan’s legendary Shingo Kunieda, widely regarded as one of the greatest wheelchair tennis players of all time.

In the women’s singles, Dutch player Diede de Groot, often considered the greatest of all time, advanced to the semi-finals with a straight-set win over China’s Luoyao Gao on September 3. De Groot has dominated the sport, achieving a calendar-year Grand Slam three times between 2021 and 2023. Every match she plays adds to her impressive legacy.

If you’re looking for a sport that’s both exciting and inspirational, wheelchair tennis is a must-watch. It offers all the strategy and movement of traditional tennis, plus the added element of athletes overcoming adversity and showcasing remarkable skill on the court.