Three international wheelchair tennis tournaments will take place in Australia in January, with the Victorian Wheelchair Open (10-14 January) and Melbourne Wheelchair Open (16-20 January) at Hume Tennis Centre, followed by the Australian Open wheelchair event from 24-28 January at Melbourne Park.
“We’re backing a spectacular summer of blockbuster events that will draw tens of thousands of visitors to the state, boosting local jobs and businesses whilst putting Victoria front of mind for spectators across the globe,” Victorian Minister for Tourism Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos said.
“Tournaments like the Victorian and Melbourne Wheelchair Tennis Open give fans the chance to see top athletes in action, while providing a vital pathway for next generation of sporting greats.”
The world’s best wheelchair tennis players will compete across men’s, women’s and quad fields; including world No.1 and defending champions Diede De Groot (NED) and Shingo Kunieda (JPN) who will lead the women’s and men’s field respectively, and world No.1 Niels Vink (NED) and [2] Sam Schroder (NED) leading the Quad field.
Other players, including Yui Kamiji (JPN), Aniek Van Koot (NED) and Jiske Griffioen (BEL) will compete in the women’s field, and Alfie Hewitt (GBR), Gustavo Fernandez (ARG) and 16-year-old young gun Tokito Oda will line up in the men’s draws across the Summer.
Australians Ben Weekes and Heath Davidson, as will also compete in the men’s and quad Australian Open draws respectively. Full entry lists for lead in events are attached here
“Stockland is proud to sponsor and host the Wheelchair Summer Series again at Highlands,” Attributable to Stockland State Economic Development Manager, Teresa Maguire said.
“It’s great to see Tennis Australia expanding their tournaments, meaning we get to host an even bigger all-star line-up at our Hume Tennis & Community Centre. I encourage everyone to come out to Highlands and cheer on the players.”
Hume Tennis Centre will also host an array of activities to coincide with the two AO lead in events, including a come and try day, and a celebration and presentation dinner on the 15th January.
“To have the world’s best wheelchair tennis players compete at Hume Tennis prior to playing at the Australian Open is a privilege and an opportunity for the community to experience world class sport. Each tournament day there will be a feature match from 5pm allowing for people to enjoy after work action,” Tim Connelly, Managing Director Hume Tennis and Community Centre said.
“During the Melbourne Wheelchair Tennis Open, January 16-20, the club will have the Australian Open playing on the big outdoor screen, so people will be able to enjoy the best of both events. Matches start each day at 11am and we are looking forward to January 10th when the Victorian Wheelchair Tennis Open starts.”
This year brings great excitement as two of our local players from Hume will be competing in the two events. Jin Woodman from Sunbury who is just 13 (pictured below) and Saalim Naser from Roxburg Park will be competing.
Play starts each day at 11am with a twilight session at 5pm, entry is free and we welcome everybody from the community.
Also each night over the Australian Open Hume Tennis will host an Australian Open Interactive Live Site where people can come and down and play as well as watch the Australian Open on the Outdoor Large Screen
Live scores and streams for the wheelchair events will be made available via the Hume Tennis Centre facebook page here.
2023 Australian Wheelchair Tennis Summer Calendar
| Date | Event | Location |
| 10-14 Jan | Victorian Wheelchair Open | Hume Tennis Centre |
| 16-20 January | Melbourne Wheelchair Open | Hume Tennis Centre |
| 24-28 Jan | AO 2023 Wheelchair Championships | Melbourne Park |
| Wed 27 Jan | Wheelchair Doubles Finals | Melbourne Park |
| Thurs 28 Jan | Wheelchair Singles Finals | Melbourne Park |