Anderson Parker and Ben Weekes will represent Australia in the wheelchair tennis events at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
Paris, France, 27 August 2024 | Leigh Rogers
The draws are set for the wheelchair tennis events at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
Anderson Parker, a 26-year-old from Sydney, will make his Paralympic Games debut against Argentina’s Ezequiel Casco in the men’s wheelchair singles competition.
They have played once before, with world No.44 Casco scoring a three-set victory in May 2023.
Ben Weekes is competing in a record sixth Paralympic Games, the most of any Australian tennis player in history.
The enduring 39-year-old, also from Sydney, has been drawn against world No.19 Daniel Rodrigues in the opening round.
Although Rodrigues, a 37-year-old from Brazil, has won eight of their previous nine encounters, this will be their first meeting since 2018.
| Paralympic Games 2024 Men’s wheelchair singles, first round |
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| Player | Rank | Player | Rank | |
| Anderson Parker (AUS) | No.45 | v | Ezequiel Casco (ARG) | No.44 |
| Ben Weekes (AUS) | No.40 | v | Daniel Rodrigues (BRA) | No.19 |
Parker and Weekes will team up in the men’s wheelchair doubles event, where they’ll face the Brazilian combination of Rodrigues and 51-year-old Gustavo Carneiro Silva.
Weekes is looking forward to partnering Parker in his first Paralympic Games.
“I remember back to my first Games, and for me, the best part was having those other Australians around to kind of deal with the pressure,” said Weekes, who made his debut at Athens 2004.
“It’s nice that I can give back to Andy in his first Games and hopefully we can team up really well in the doubles and get a good result.”
| Paralympic Games 2024 Men’s wheelchair doubles, first round |
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| Anderson Parker/Ben Weekes (AUS) | v | Gustavo Carneiro Silva/Daniel Rodrigues (BRA) |
> VIEW: Full Paris 2024 Paralympic Games wheelchair tennis draws
Heath Davidson was selected to represent Australia in the quad wheelchair singles event, however the world No.7 announced his withdrawal earlier this week.
“I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the 2024 Paralympics,” Davidson shared on social media.
“My mum has been admitted into palliative care, and I want to be here at home with her during this time. I wish Ben and Andy, and the rest of the Australian Paralympic team the best of luck representing the green and gold.”
The 36-year-old has previously represented Australia in two…
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