Sydney launches international standard tennis courts with wheelchair accessibility

Elite tennis players from around Australia will descend on the new Prince Alfred Park courts in Sydney's Surry Hills next month for the inaugural Metropolitan Open Wheelchair Tennis Tournament.

The International Tennis Federation-sanctioned tournament is the first of its kind to be held in the Sydney CBD and comes after the five international standard outdoor tennis courts were recently upgraded to include wheelchair accessibility.

The Wheelchair Sports NSW Metropolitan Open will be held from 2nd to 4th December and will coincide with International Day of People with a Disability on 3rd December.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the City's $9 million Prince Alfred Park facelift included international grade tennis and recreation facilities designed to be accessible to all Sydneysiders, stating "what better way to celebrate these new facilities, which are not only wheelchair accessible but also feature the same Plexicushion surface used in Melbourne Park, the home of the Australian Open.

"Making our facilities accessible and inclusive to everyone in the community has really driven our work in Prince Alfred Park, so I'm thrilled to see Wheelchair Sports NSW open up the courts for a cast of elite and grassroots players."

Wheelchair Sports NSW Chief Executive Jim O'Brien said they were excited to be conducting the first Metropolitan Open at the Prince Alfred Park Tennis Centre, adding "we believe there is a real need to showcase the best of disability sport and what better way to do it than at this state-of-the-art tennis centre in the centre of Sydney.

"Wheelchair Sports NSW is very grateful for the wonderful support and encouragement from the City of Sydney to highlight the ability of our tennis players particularly during International Day of People with a Disability.

"This tournament will be a great chance for Wheelchair Sports NSW members as well as interstate and possibly overseas players to gain a competitive edge coming into a Paralympics year.

"A public showcase of wheelchair tennis will send a strong message to the public of Sydney about the worth and value of a disability sporting event such as this.

"By raising awareness of disability sport in such friendly and accessible surrounds is a credit to the City".

The Metropolitan Open is one of three International Tennis Federation Futures Tournaments being held in NSW in the lead up to the Sydney International Wheelchair Tennis Open at Sydney Olympic Park in January 2012.

The Metropolitan Open will include singles and doubles tournaments for men, women juniors, reserve grade and C-grade players, with a total prize pool of $2500.

Mick Connell, who runs a popular 'Wheelies' Wheelchair Tennis program, said the tournament would be great for players ahead of the 2012 London Summer Paralympics in August and September next year.

Connell explained "this tournament is really important for Paralympics hopefuls because it will give them a chance to gain valuable points and push their ranking up so they can be selected for the games in London.

"For me personally, this tournament is great because I love playing at the courts in Surry Hills."

"The atmosphere at Prince Alfred Park is really lively and there are always people walking by with their dogs or on bikes, who stop and have a look at our games."

"I even had someone who was going past, stop and tell me that I was an inspiration."

Wheelchair tennis is one of the more demanding and difficult wheelchair sports and follows the same rules as able bodied tennis with no modifications to court size or racquet. The only exception is that players are allowed two bounces of the ball.

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