USTA National Campus to host international wheelchair tennis event in September

The USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., has been selected to host the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) flagship international wheelchair tennis team competition. The 2026 BNP Paribas World Team Cup will take place at the USTA National Campus, September 16-19.

This year – which marks the 50th anniversary of the sport’s creation—sees the prestigious competition return to the USA, where it was first staged in 1985.

Wheelchair tennis came into existence in 1976, when a young man by the name of Brad Parks became paralyzed after a freestyle skiing accident. Brad and Jeff Minnebraker, a fellow rehab patient, decided to try wheelchair tennis at the local courts across from the hospital.  While the two of them labored to push the heavy and cumbersome hospital chairs around the court, a couple of able-bodied players on the next court yelled over, “Why do you guys even bother?” That was all the motivation Brad and Jeff needed to practice harder. Together, they worked to develop a sport that would survive the early days of struggle and grow to be recognized, 50 years later, as the most professionalized of all disabled sports.

The 2026 BNP Paribas World Team Cup is the wheelchair tennis equivalent of the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge and has grown into the largest team competition in the sport, welcoming over 40 teams, from over 20 countries each year to the event.

Participation in the 2026 BNP Paribas World Team Cup forms part of the eligibility criteria for selection for the LA 2028 Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event, alongside world ranking requirements. To be eligible for qualification, players have to have represented their nations twice in the 2024-2028 cycle, including once in 2027 or 2028.

Alistair Williams, ITF’s Head of Wheelchair Tennis Tour & Major Event Operations, said: “We are very excited to bring the World Team Cup back to the United States in this momentous year for the sport. The event’s growth from its five-team first edition to prestigious status today is incredible, and we look forward to working with the USTA to deliver a fantastic event in September.”