USTA and Special Olympics announce multi-year commitment to expand opportunities for athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and Special Olympics are making a multi-year commitment to expand opportunities for athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), setting a new standard for accessibility and inclusion in tennis. This new collaboration will officially launch at the 2026 USTA National IDD Championships, taking place October 22-25 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
The USTA National IDD Championships is a premier annual tennis event that brings together adapted tennis players, who are athletes with physical or intellectual disabilities, from USTA sections across the country to compete in a national-level tournament. The goal is to provide a high-quality, competitive environment while fostering sportsmanship and camaraderie among adapted tennis players.
This year, 16 adapted athletes will compete in the singles tournament – up from eight players in 2025 – while 25 teams are expected to compete in the Unified doubles competition, an event where players with and without intellectual disabilities compete as teammates. The full entry list can be found here.
“What excites me about the future for tennis athletes with intellectual disabilities is the high level of play people will see. The partnership gives us the platform to finally show that people with ID can compete at the highest levels possible and live out our dreams of becoming elite tennis players. I believe this tournament is only the beginning of ID tennis tournaments in the USTA,” said Wyatt Spalding, Special Olympics Nebraska athlete and competitor at the Championships.
Juan Pablo Lopez and John Perry competing in unified doubles at the 2025 USTA National Adaptive Tennis Championships at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. Photo by Conor Kvatek/USTA.
“Special Olympics does an incredible job elevating adapted tennis programs across the country, engaging thousands of athletes, Unified partners, and coaches to foster inclusion on and off the court, and we are proud to work together to help grow the game,” said Marisa Grimes, USTA’s Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. “This collaboration unites our missions to inspire people through sport and create more pathways for participation across all levels and abilities, making tennis more accessible than ever.”
As part of the three-year collaboration, the USTA and Special Olympics also plan to work together on joint initiatives, including localized programming, adapted tournament regulations and opportunities to increase workplace recruitment and retention for neurodiverse talent to foster long-term professional and athletic development.
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