The 2025 Australian Wheelchair Summer Series will welcome more than 88 players from over 18 countries to Victoria in January.
Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 13 December 2024 | Camille Russo
The 2025 Australian Wheelchair Summer Series will welcome more than 88 players from over 18 countries to Victoria in January.
To officially open the event, local Hume player and 15-year-old Australian Open wildcard holder Jin Woodman joined Paralympian Heath Davidson in launching the Summer of Wheelchair Tennis at the Hume Tennis and Community Centre.
The summer wheelchair events include the Victorian Wheelchair Tennis Open (ITF1) from 6-10 January, the Melbourne Wheelchair Open (Super Series) from 12-17 January and the Australian Open Wheelchair Championships (Grand Slam) from 20-25 January.
“I always love coming out to Hume and playing in the two weeks leading into the AO,” said Davidson.
“Tennis Australia has a good grassroots pathway program. In the last three years we’ve won two World Team Cups in the juniors and this year we came second. It’s a credit to all the young players coming through this pathway like Jin – he is fearless on the court and works so hard.”
Reflecting on his best year yet, Woodman said: “This year I made the US Open juniors, it was amazing. The World Team Cup in Turkey was also a great experience travelling by myself without a parent, relying on the coaches and myself.
“The Australian Open is going to be amazing considering it’s my first one. I am going to love it with all the Aussie fans who will come out to watch us. I am proud to be representing Australia on home soil.”
Reflecting on the growth of wheelchair tennis, Chief Tennis Officer Tom Larner said: “Significant investment from Tennis Australia has gone into the wheelchair player pathway, with a large focus on increased prizemoney at the Australian Open for wheelchair events every year.
“This year saw record entries in the Australian Wheelchair Summer Series with more than 100 athletes on site, and it’s junior players like Jin who are the driving force behind this growth.
“Australia has the most junior players with an ITF ranking, and we currently have 14 players within the elite junior pathway – double the number from five years ago. Inclusion is a cornerstone of our sport so there’s a lot to be proud of as we continue to create opportunities and invest in this space,” Larner continued.
The Australian Open 2025 will…
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