Anderson Parker, Heath Davidson and Ben Weekes will head to Paris as part of the Australian Wheelchair tennis team for the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Melbourne, Australia, 5 August 2024 | Rhys de Deugd
A three-strong team of Australian wheelchair tennis stars is set to make a mark at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Ben Weekes and Anderson Parker will compete in men’s wheelchair singles and doubles, while 2016 gold medallist Heath Davidson will take the court in the quad singles event.
Davidson, quad wheelchair tennis world No.7, will don the green and gold at the Paralympics for the third time and will embrace the spotlight for the next generation when he takes centre stage.
“I’m extremely happy to be over there and represent my country again for the third time – it means the world to me,” Davidson said.
“Growing up watching the Olympics, it was on TV, it wasn’t the Paralympics, now we are getting to see athletes with disability on mainstream TV which is awesome.”
We are thrilled to announce our Wheelchair Tennis team for the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Join us in supporting these athletes as they go for gold in Paris!@TennisAustralia | #WheelchairTennis #ImagineWhatWeCanDo #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/TCv13e0lzQ
— AUS Paralympic Team (@AUSParalympics) August 5, 2024
Anderson Parker, who won the open men’s singles division at the 2023 Australian Wheelchair Tennis National Championships in November, will make his Paralympic debut.
“Doing the official announcement it’s now sort of becoming more of a realisation, so I’m very nervous but excited as well,” Parker explained.
“With all my family coming down, to just experience Paris with them if I get the opportunity to get out and explore.”
Parker was a top-ranked junior before being de-classified from the sport and taking up wheelchair basketball.
After several years away from the game, Parker returned to tennis and worked closely with experienced Australian players including Ben Weekes, who he will share the court with for doubles in Paris.
Weekes is set to compete in his sixth Paralympic Games, breaking his own Australian tennis record.
“I remember back to my first (Paralympic) Games, and for me, the best part was having those other Australians around to kind of deal with the pressure,” Weekes said.
“It’s nice that I can give back to Andy (Parker) in his first Games and hopefully we can team up really well in the doubles and get a good…
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