2013/05/18

USTA Announces Players and Coaches for BNP Paribas World Team Cup

BNP Paribas World Team Cup

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., April 24, 2013 – The United States Tennis Association (USTA) today announced the players and coaches who will represent the United States at the 2013 BNP Paribas World Team Cup. The nation’s top wheelchair tennis players will compete against participants from around the globe, May 20-26, and will be hosted by the Turkish Sports Federation for the Disabled (TSFD) on the clay courts of Club Ali Bey Manavgat on the Turkish Riviera, in Antalya, Turkey.

 

The World Team Cup is the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis event, often referred to as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup of wheelchair tennis. The inaugural event took place in California in 1985 involving six men’s teams. The women’s competition began the following year, with quad and junior events introduced in 1998 and 2000, respectively. The event has experienced continued growth since.

 

The United States Quad Team will look to bring home the quad title for the sixth time in the last ten years. The three-time Paralympic Doubles gold medal-winning team of David Wagner and Nick Taylor are looking to regain the quad title alongside fellow Americans Bryan Barten and Greg Hasterok after the team took the bronze medal last year.

 

Men’s coach Jason Hartnett also has been named a finalist by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) for its Paralympic Coach of the Year award. Harnett is one of three finalists nominated for the prestigious award. The winner will be announced during a dinner on Friday, June 21, at the conclusion of the 2013 National Coaching Conference at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo.

 

The USTA was officially designated by the USOC as the national governing body for the Paralympic sport of wheelchair tennis in June 2002, becoming the first Olympic national governing body to earn this recognition. As the national governing body for wheelchair tennis, the USTA manages wheelchair tennis in the United States, including the sanctioning of tournaments, overseeing wheelchair rankings, creating and managing a High Performance program for developing elite disabled athletes, and selecting teams to compete internationally for the United States.

 

Teams from more than 50 countries will take part in the 2013 competition. In Antalya, teams will compete in the men’s World Group (12 nations), men’s World Group 2 (12 nations), women’s World Group (12 nations), quad event (8 teams) and junior event (8 teams).

 

Representing the United States at the 2013 BNP Paribas World Team Cup will be:

 

Men’s Team

Jason Harnett (Coach) – San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

Steve Baldwin – San Diego, Calif.

Anthony Lara – Chino, Calif.

Stephen Welch – Southlake, Texas

 

Women’s Team

Dan James (Coach) – Seattle, Wash.

Shelby Baron – Honolulu, Hawaii

Emmy Kaiser – Ft. Mitchell, Ky.

Kaitlyn Verfuerth – Flagstaff, Ariz.

 

Quad Team

John Devorss (Coach) – Salem, Ore.

Bryan Barten – Tucson, Ariz.

Greg Hasterok – San Diego, Calif.

Nick Taylor – Wichita, Kan.

David Wagner – Chula Vista, Calif.

 

Junior’s Team

Paul Walker (Coach) – Lakeland, Fla.

Chris Herman – Gulfport, Fla.

Krystal Kelley – Grand Haven, Mich.

Casey Ratzlaff – Wichita, Kan.

 

Certified Athletic Trainer

Jenna Street – Colorado Springs, Colo.

 

Team Manager

Emily Sandor – White Plains, N.Y.

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Mission Viejo, California to host 2013 ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters

ITF

(April 2, 2013) The ITF announced that Mission Viejo in Southern California, USA will host the 2013 ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters, part of the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour, on 7-11 November at the newly renovated Marguerite Tennis Pavilion.

 

The ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters is the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis doubles event. First staged in 2000, the season-ending event currently features the world’s top eight men’s pairs, top six women’s pairs and top four quad pairs. USA becomes only the third country after Italy and Netherlands to host the tournament since it became a standalone event in 2003.

 

The official tournament website was also launched today: www.itfwheelchairdoublesmasters.com.

 

Mission Viejo has long supported wheelchair tennis, and for the last six years has hosted the ITF Cruyff Foundation Junior Wheelchair Camp for the Americas in association with the USTA. In 2012, 25 players from seven countries took part in the camp.

 

Brad Parks, the founder of wheelchair tennis and an ITF Wheelchair Tennis Ambassador, has been named Honorary Chair of the 2013 ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters. Parks hails from the nearby city of San Clemente.

 

“I am delighted that Mission Viejo will become the first city outside Europe to host the ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters,” said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. “It is fitting that this prestigious event should be staged in a part of the world so closely linked to the history of wheelchair tennis. As a strong supporter of doubles play, the ITF is pleased to see the continued success of this discipline within wheelchair tennis.”

 

“Wheelchair tennis has its roots in Southern California,” said Brad Parks. “For 20 years, the US Open USTA Wheelchair Tennis Championships, a premier international wheelchair tennis tournament, was held in Irvine. Mission Viejo was the site of our first junior wheelchair tennis and sports camp in 1980, and the camp continues today. There has been a strong relationship between Mission Viejo and wheelchair tennis for so many years and to be able to bring back a major wheelchair tennis event here to Mission Viejo and Southern California is incredible.”

 

The 2013 ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters has also received the support of 1989 Roland Garros champion Michael Chang, also a resident of Mission Viejo, who became the youngest-ever male player to win a Grand Slam singles title at the age of 17.

 

“It’s so exciting to be able to have the ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters for the first time in the US and right here in Mission Viejo,” said Chang. “I would encourage everyone to come and watch this special event as the best wheelchair tennis players from around the world compete and battle it out. If you haven’t seen wheelchair tennis at its best, you’re missing out as these players are truly amazing.”

 

“Mission Viejo is honored to be the first US city to host such a prestigious and special event,” said Rhonda Reardon, Mayor of the City of Mission Viejo. “It is our privilege to showcase such determined and highly skilled competitors who bring new meaning to the words excellence and inspirational. These athletes are shining examples of rising above some of the limitations life imposes on us.”

 

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Esther Vergeer Retires From Wheelchair Tennis

Esther Vergeer (NED)

(February 12, 2013) Esther Vergeer has announced her retirement from wheelchair tennis bringing an end to the most illustrious career the sport has ever seen.

The 31-year-old Dutch star, who celebrated ten years without a defeat on the international wheelchair tennis circuit on 30 January, has been the face of her sport for more than a decade.

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said “Esther Vergeer is a tremendous ambassador not only for tennis but also for disability sports. She is an inspiration to many. Wheelchair tennis owes her a huge debt of gratitude for her professionalism and her quality as a player. Everyone at the ITF wishes her well with her Foundation and we know that anything she chooses to do in the future will be a success. While we will certainly miss her, we will have one more chance to honour her as our ITF World Champion, for a record 13th time, at the ITF World Champions Dinner in Paris.”

Vergeer started to play wheelchair tennis at the age of 12 after surgery on her spinal cord went wrong. Her dominance of wheelchair tennis started when she became world No. 1 for the first time in 1999. She has been named ITF Wheelchair World Champion for the last 13 years, winning 169 titles and ends her career on a winning streak of 470 matches, with her last defeat coming against Australian Daniela di Toro in Sydney on 30 January 2003.

In the last 10 years Vergeer has won a total of 120 successive tournaments, beating 73 different opponents, winning 95 matches 60 60 and dropping just 18 sets of tennis. In that time she faced only one match point – against fellow countrywoman Korie Homan in the women’s gold medal match at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

In Grand Slam play, Vergeer won every singles event she entered, racking up 21 singles titles and 23 doubles titles at the majors. She won eight Paralympic medals during her career, seven of which were gold to cement her place in the history books as a true sporting legend. She was part of the Netherlands’ team that won the World Team Cup on 12 occasions, in 1998, 2000-2009 and 2011.

Vergeer recently took part in a Johan Cruyff Foundation trip to South Africa to mark the 10th anniversary of the Cruyff Foundation’s involvement in the Wheelchair Tennis Development Fund. The week-long trip included visits to ongoing projects in Elaansdorn and Johannesburg. South Africa was one of the first countries to be supported by the Development Fund.

Esther Vergeer’s career in numbers:

 

Total win/loss: 700-25

Total singles titles: 148

Total doubles titles: 136

Grand Slam singles titles: 21

Grand Slam doubles titles: 23

Paralympic Medals: 8

Gold: Singles Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012,

Gold: Doubles Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 (with Maaike Smit), London 2012 (with Marjolein Buis)

Silver: Doubles Beijing 2008 (with Jiske Griffioen)

NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters Singles titles: 14

World Team Cup titles: 12

Weeks at No. 1: 668 (first reached 6 April 1999, consecutive from 2 October 2000 – 21 January 2013)

Winning streak: 470 matches from 6 February 2003 – 8 September 2012 (last date played)

ITF World Champion: 13 years 2000-2012

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Wheelchair Tennis Star Esther Vergeer Celebrates 10 Years Unbeaten

Esther Vergeer

Esther Vergeer

(January 30, 2013) Dutch wheelchair tennis star Esther Vergeer is celebrating ten years without a defeat on the international wheelchair tennis circuit today. Vergeer, 31 years old from Woerden, has won 470 consecutive matches since she was defeated by Australian Daniele di Toro in Sydney on 30 January 2003.

 

Vergeer is currently taking part in a Johann Cruyff Foundation trip to South Africa to mark the 10th anniversary of the Cruyff Foundation’s involvement in the Wheelchair Tennis Development Fund. The week-long trip will include visits to ongoing projects in Elaansdorn and Johannesburg. South Africa was one of the first countries to be supported by the Development Fund.

 

Vergeer started to play wheelchair tennis at the age of 12 after surgery on her spinal cord went wrong. A former national standard wheelchair basketball player, she eventually made the decision to pursue tennis instead, and played her first tournament in 1994. Vergeer became world No. 1 for the first time in 1999 and has gone on to dominate the sport winning 169 titles. She has been named ITF Wheelchair World Champion for the last 13 years.

 

In the last 10 years Vergeer has won a total of 120 successive tournaments, beaten 73 different opponents, won 95 matches 60 60 and dropped only 18 sets of tennis. She has faced only one match point – against fellow Dutchwoman Korie Homan in the women’s gold medal match at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

 

Only one professional athlete in sporting history is known to have a longer winning streak than Vergeer. Pakistan squash player Jahangir Khan won 555 consecutive matches, although he was only undefeated for five-and-a-half years (1981-86).

 

Vergeer said: “I am impressed I got this far. I sometimes still cannot believe that in all these years I did not have a breakdown. I am proud and I am going to celebrate. I am pleased to link it in with visiting South Africa to celebrate the ten years of the Wheelchair Tennis Development Fund with the Cruyff Foundation.”

 

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “Esther Vergeer is a great athlete and an even better ambassador for wheelchair tennis. Her skill and personality have helped to lift the profile of the sport around the world. This remarkable achievement is a testament to all the hard work she has put in throughout her career.”

 

Carole Thate, Director of the Cruyff Foundation, said: “Esther Vergeer is a role model not only as an athlete, but also in setting up her own Foundation so that she can give back to society. In collaboration with the Johan Cruyff Foundation, she has established the project ‘From Sport day to Sport club’ to help physically disabled children get acquainted with sport through sports days at schools.”

 

The Wheelchair Tennis Development Fund was set up in 2002 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of wheelchair tennis. The Fund aims to establish sustainable wheelchair tennis programs in developing nations through the provision of tennis equipment and technical expertise and the identification of local partners who will take the program to self-supporting levels. The Johan Cruyff Foundation began financing the Development Fund in 2003 and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

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Antalya to Host BNP Paribas World Team Cup Wheelchair Tennis Event

worldteam cup

(January 15, 2013) The ITF announced that the 2013 BNP Paribas World Team Cup, the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis team event, will be held in Antalya, Turkey. The event will be staged on the clay courts of the Club Ali Bey Manavgat on the Turkish Riviera on 20-26 May.

 

The World Team Cup is the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis event, often referred to as the Davis and Fed Cups of wheelchair tennis. The initial event took place in California in 1985 involving six men’s teams. The women’s competition began the following year, with quad and junior events introduced in 1998 and 2000 respectively. Due to the increased number of teams wanting to take part, the ITF introduced regional qualifying for the men’s and women’s events in 2012.

 

Teams from over 50 countries will take part in the 2013 competition. Four regional qualifying events will determine the six men’s and four women’s teams to join the direct entries in the finals in Antalya. In Antalya, teams will contest the men’s World Group (12 nations), men’s World Group 2 (12 nations), women’s World Group (12 nations), quad event (8 teams) and junior event (8 teams).

 

The full list of dates and venues is as follows:

 

17-20 January Africa Qualification Nairobi Club, Nairobi, Kenya
16-19 February Asian Qualification Sri Lanka Tennis Association, Colombo, Sri Lanka

1-5 March European Qualification Kaya Belek Resort Hotel, Antalya, Turkey

13-16 March Americas Qualification Roger Scott Tennis Centre, Pensacola, FL, USA
20-26 May Finals Club Ali Bey Manavgat, Antalya, Turkey

Antalya is hosting the event for the second time having previously staged the World Team Cup in 2010. The resort has a long history of hosting major ITF events and will also stage the ITF Seniors World Team and Individual Championships in 2013.

 

BNP Paribas became title sponsor of the event in 2012 in a five-year agreement that runs through 2016. The company’s long-term agreement with the ITF also includes sponsorship of Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup, and the biennial Worldwide Coaches Conference and regional coaches workshops.

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NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters Results

(November 9, 2012) The latest results from the 2012 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters taking place in Mechelen, Belgium on 7-11 November. Eight men, eight women and four quad players are competing in the ITF’s year-end wheelchair tennis singles championship.

 

The NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters was initiated in 1994 to honour the top players who have shown dedication and professionalism to the sport, and forms the climax to the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour, that in 2012 featured approximately 170 events in more than 40 countries. In the men’s and women’s events, eight players compete in two round-robin groups, with the top two players in each group reaching the semifinals. In the quad event, four players compete in one round-robin group, with the top two players contesting the final.

 

NEC WHEELCHAIR TENNIS MASTERS, MECHELEN, BELGIUM

 

MEN ROUND ROBIN – Pool 1

Stephane Houdet (FRA) (1) d. Ronald Vink (NED) (4) 64 75

Stefan Olsson (SWE) 62 61 d. Michael Jeremiasz (FRA) 62 75

 

MEN ROUND ROBIN – Pool 2

Shingo Kunieda (JPN) (3) d. Gustavo Fernandez (ARG) 60 60

Maikel Scheffers (NED) (2) d. Gordon Reid (GBR) 46 62 64

 

WOMEN ROUND ROBIN – Pool 1

Aniek van Koot (NED) (1) d. Kgothatso Montjane (RSA) 61 63

Jiske Griffioen (NED) (4) d. Sharon Walraven (NED) 60 57 64

 

WOMEN ROUND ROBIN – Pool 2

Sabine Ellerbrock (GER) (2) d. Annick Sevenans (BEL) 61 63

Lucy Shuker (GBR) d. Marjolein Buis (NED) (3) 16 63 64

 

QUADS ROUND ROBIN

David Wagner (USA) (1) d. Anders Hard (SWE) 60 67(6) 61

Andy Lapthorne (GBR) (2) d. Nick Taylor (USA) 63 63

 

The quad singles final will be David Wagner from USA against Andy Lapthorne from Great Britain.

The men’s semifinals will see Stephane Houdet from France against Maikel Scheffers from the Netherlands and Shingo Kunieda from Japan against Stefan Olsson from Sweden.

The women’s semifinals will see Aniek van Koot from the Netherlands against Sabine Ellerbrock from Germany and Jiske Griffioen against fellow Dutchwoman Marjolein Buis.

 

For the latest news and results from the event, please visit the ITF wheelchair website: www.itftennis.com/wheelchair

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Johan Cruyff Foundation extends sponsorship of wheelchair tennis

The ITF announced that it has renewed its sponsorship agreements with the Johan Cruyff Foundation as a program partner for the Wheelchair Tennis Silver Fund and ITF’s wheelchair tennis junior programs. The Foundation will support additional Silver Fund projects for 2012-13, as well as the junior programs for 2012.

 

The Wheelchair Tennis Silver Fund was set up in 2002 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of wheelchair tennis. The Fund aims to establish sustainable wheelchair tennis programs in developing nations through the provision of tennis equipment and technical expertise and the identification of local partners who will take the program to self-supporting levels.

 

The Johan Cruyff Foundation began financing the Silver Fund in 2003 and celebrates 10 years of involvement this year. The new agreement will help develop additional projects in Indonesia, Philippines, Mexico and West Africa in 2012-13. Ten countries competing at the 2012 Paralympic Tennis Event in London have been supported by the Silver Fund, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Zimbabwe.

 

Since 2005, the Foundation has also supported wheelchair tennis training and competitive opportunities for juniors. Junior program activities include international and national camps, the Junior Masters at Les Petits As in France, Junior World Team Cup and the successful Cruyff Foundation International Junior Ranking. Current ITF world champions Esther Vergeer and Maikel Scheffers of Netherlands and defending Paralympic champion Shingo Kunieda of Japan are among the players to have benefited from the ITF’s junior programs.

 

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “We are grateful for the ongoing support of the Johan Cruyff Foundation, which has been a loyal and hardworking partner of the ITF’s wheelchair tennis activities. The commitment of our sponsors has helped wheelchair tennis to become one of the fastest growing Paralympic sports with 30 nations represented at this year’s Paralympic Tennis Event.”

 

Carole Thate, Director of the Johan Cruyff Foundation, said: “We have worked closely with the ITF for 10 years to introduce wheelchair tennis to children in developing countries through the junior programs and Silver Fund. We have already reached many juniors but our work is not yet finished. That is why we have again extended our relationship with the ITF to create more opportunities for many more children.”

 

About Johan Cruyff Foundation

 

The Johan Cruyff Foundation was established in 1997 by European soccer player Johan Cruyff. The Foundation supports and stimulates play and sport for children worldwide, with a special focus on sports programs for children with a disability. The Foundation supports a wide variety of sports projects from street soccer to sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball to swimming.

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BNP Paribas World Team Cup Results

BNP PARIBAS WORLD TEAM CUP, SEOUL, KOREA 

Mens’s FINAL

FRANCE (2) defeated NETHERLANDS (1) 2-1
Ronald Vink (NED) d. Nicolas Peifer (FRA) 64 57 75
Stephane Houdet (FRA) d. Maikel Scheffers (NED)  61 60
Stephane Houdet/Michael Jeremiasz (FRA) d. Maikel Scheffers/Tom Egberink (NED) 61 61

 

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BNP Paribas World Team Cup Results

The latest results from the 2012 BNP Paribas World Team Cup taking place in Seoul, Korea on 21-27 May. Teams are competing in four categories: men, women, quad and junior. A total of 52 teams from 28 nations are taking part in the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis team event.

For the latest news from the event, please visit the ITF wheelchair website: www.itftennis.com/wheelchair

BNP PARIBAS WORLD TEAM CUP, SEOUL, KOREA

Quad FINAL

ISRAEL (3) defeated GREAT BRITAIN (2) 2-0

Shraga Weinberg (ISR) d. Jamie Burdekin (GBR) 67(5) 76(5) 63

Noam Gershony (ISR) d. Peter Norfolk (GBR) 64 62

Doubles Not Played

Junior FINAL

NETHERLANDS (2) defeated USA (6) 2-0

Jeroen Staman (NED) d. Shelby Baron (USA) 63 60

Carlos Anker (NED) d. Chris Herman (USA) 76(5) 76(3)

Doubles Not Played

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BNP Paribas World Team Cup Results

The latest results from the 2012 BNP Paribas World Team Cup taking place in Seoul, Korea on 21-27 May. Teams are competing in four categories: men, women, quad and junior. A total of 52 teams from 28 nations are taking part in the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis team event.

For the latest news from the event, please visit the ITF wheelchair website: www.itftennis.com/wheelchair

BNP PARIBAS WORLD TEAM CUP, SEOUL, KOREA

Women’s FINAL

NETHERLANDS (1) defeated JAPAN (4) 2-0

Marjolein Buis (NED) d. Kanako Domori (JPN) 61 60

Aniek van Koot (NED) d. Yui Kamiji (JPN) 36 61 60

Doubles Not Played

Men’s Semifinal

FRANCE (2) defeated JAPAN (3) 3-0

Nicolas Peifer (FRA) d. Satoshi Saida (JPN) 26 62 62

Stéphane Houdet (FRA) d. Shingo Kunieda (JPN) 64 61

Stéphane Houdet/Michael Jeremiasz (FRA) d. Shingo Kunieda/Satoshi Saida (JPN) 63 61

NETHERLANDS (1) defeated SWEDEN (4) 2-1

Ronald Vink (NED) d. Peter Vikstrom (SWE) 64 75

Maikel Scheffers (NED) d. Stefan Olsson (SWE) 61 63

Tom Egberink/Robin Ammerlaan (SWE) d. Peter Vikstrom/Stefan Olsson (NED) 64 36 10-4

Quad Semifinals

GREAT BRITAIN (2) defeated USA (1) 2-0

Jamie Burdekin (GBR) d. Nick Taylor (USA) 62 61

Andrew Lapthorne (GBR) d. David Wagner (USA) 46 64 63

Doubles Not Played

ISRAEL (3) defeated JAPAN (4) 3-0

Boaz Kramer (ISR) d. Mitsuteru Moroishi (JPN) 06 61 76(5)

Noam Gershony (ISR) d. Shota Kawano (JPN) 60 60

Shraga Weinberg (ISR) d. Shota Kawano/Mitsuteru Moroishi (JPN) 62 60

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