Ten teams eye history at USTA Collegiate Wheelchair Championships in Orlando

Ten teams have a historic opportunity in front of them this week at the USTA National Campus the USTA Collegiate Wheelchair Championships in Orlando, Fla. For the first time in the more than two decades that this event has been held, a champion won't be crowned at the end of this week's matches. Instead, two top teams will return to Orlando next month to play their championship match during the NCAA DI, DII, and DIII National Championships.

Adding the title match to an already-historic championships—for the first time in any sport, men's and women's teams in the three NCAA divisions will all compete for their season-ending trophies in at a single site—is a symbol of continued progress for a rapidly-growing endeavor: While wheelchair tennis is not currently sanctioned by the NCAA, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and NCAA Office of Inclusion recently announced that they are teaming up to help advance the integration of wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, and wheelchair track and field into high-profile, able-bodied collegiate competitions in these sports.

Jason Harnett, the USTA's director of wheelchair tennis, calls the collegiate ranks "the heartbeat of our competitive pathway," and other leaders within the sport's governing body also view this year's event as an opportunity to further equity and inclusion.

“Hosting the USTA’s Collegiate Wheelchair National Championships with the NCAA Championships is a major step forward for all of tennis,” USTA President and Chairman of the Board Brian Hainline recently said. “Whenever we speak of tennis, we are doing so with an inclusive voice–emphasizing that tennis is for athletes of all abilities, and disabilities. Our wheelchair athletes are phenomenal athletes and human beings competing side-by-side with their collegiate colleagues.”

A wheelchair team champion will be crowned at the Campus on May 20—the same day as the Division I men’s and women’s team finals. But first, two teams will have to get there, and the field of 10 at the Campus this week marks an all-time high for the 23-year history of the event.