Melbourne, Victoria, 22 July 2024 | Rhys de Deugd
The third annual BLV (Blind and Low Vision) National Championships took place in Melbourne over the weekend with record-breaking attendance from across the country.
The event, which featured 50 athletes, including 32 from interstate, was the largest draw in the competition’s history and the first time B2-4 categories hosted split-gender draws in singles and doubles.
In another tournament-first, a B1 division was added for athletes competing with no light perception in their vision.
Western Australia’s Ben Rowe was crowned the inaugural B1 singles champion after performing a stunning acoustic rendition of the national anthem at the tournament’s opening ceremony.
July 21: Inaugural B1 singles national champion Ben Rowe at the 2024 National Blind and Low Vision Championships at the National Tennis Centre in Melbourne. Photo by TENNIS AUSTRALIA/ HAMISH BLAIR
| Australian Blind and Low Vision Championships 2024 | ||
| Event | Champion | Runner-up |
| Division 1 junior singles |
Arato Katsuda-Green (NSW) | Ethan Cook (SA) |
| Division 2 junior singles | Matthew Divito (SA) | Leah Glassenbury (SA) |
| B1 open singles | Ben Rowe (WA) | Isaiah Muller (SA) |
| B2 men’s singles | Ethan Cook (SA) | Oliver Fanshawe (QLD) |
| B2-3 women’s singles | Caroline Lane (VIC) | Courtney Webeck (NSW) |
| B3 men’s singles | Michael Leigh (NSW) | Reuben Fairbank (SA) |
| B4 women’s singles | Grace Hobbs (NSW) | Madison Kelly (Vic) |
| B4 men’s singles | Ross Patterson (Vic) | Arato Katsuda-Green (NSW) |
| B1 open doubles | Isabella Allen (QLD)/ Tess Whelan(Vic) | Arthur Pirika(WA) /Nicole Muir (WA) |
| B2 men’s doubles | Ethan Cook (SA)/Oliver Fanshawe (QLD) | Ned Brewer-Maiga(Vic)/Scott Dann(QLD) |
| B2-4 women’s doubles | Steve Obeid (Vic)/Matt Cameron (WA) | Jasper Steeds (Vic)/Adam Fayad (Vic) |
| B3-4 men’s doubles | Michael Leigh (NSW)/Ross Patterson(Vic) | Arato Katsuda-Green (NSW)/Sean Russo (NSW) |
> VIEW: Full results from the 2024 Australian Blind and Low Vision Championships
New South Wales claimed bragging rights as the top-performing state/territory in the singles competitions and was awarded the Maurice Gleeson Cup for the second-consecutive year.
The cup honours the huge contribution Maurice Gleeson OAM made to blind tennis over many years and is…
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