Australia’s top Blind and Low Vision (BLV) tennis players have been selected for the upcoming 2023 International Blind Sports Federation World Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom when they get underway from Friday 18 to Sunday 27 August 2023.
The IBSA World Games is the largest high-level international event for athletes with a visual impairment and will debut tennis for the first time this year.
South Australians Mark Haskett, Ricky Segura and Courtney Lewis, along with coach Nicholas Bradley, will take their place in the 11-person Australian team. This is first time Tennis Australia has supported a Blind and Low Vision Tennis Team at an international event.
Blind and Low Vision tennis is played with an adapted foam ball that can be heard rattling across the court. The courts are also smaller with lines on the court raised to mark certain boundaries.
There are four classifications in the Blind and Low Vision tennis pathway. These are:
- B1 – Visual acuity poorer than LogMAR 2.60
- B2 – Visual acuity ranging from LogMAR 1.50 to 2.60 (inclusive)
- B3 – Visual acuity ranging from LogMAR 1.0 to 1.40 (inclusive) OR visual fields less than 10 degrees diameter and visual acuity better than 0.5 (B4)
- B4 – Visual acuity ranging from LogMAR 0.5 to 0.9 (inclusive) OR visual fields less than 40 degrees diameter and visual acuity better than 0.5.
Australian Blind and Low Vision tennis team
Steve Manley – Team Coach
Nicholas Bradley – Team Coach
Jay Schuback – Team Manager
Men
| Name | Suburb | Australian ranking |
| Mark Haskett | Richmond, SA | B2 Singles – #1 B2 Open Doubles – #1 B3 Men’s Singles – #4 B3 Open Doubles – #17 |
| Mick Leigh | Prestons, NSW | B3 Men’s Singles – #1 B3 Open Doubles – #2 B4 Open Singles – #3 B4 Open Doubles – #1 |
| Ross Patterson | Mt Eliza, Vic | B4 Open Singles – #1 B4 Open Doubles – #3 |
| Arato Katsuda-Green | Cremorne, NSW | B4 Open Singles – #1 B4 Open Doubles – #3 Junior Singles (Mixed classification) – #1 |
| Adam Fayad | Coburg, VIC | B3 Open Doubles – #1 |
| Ricky Segura | North Plympton, SA | B3 Open Doubles – #10 |
Women
| Name | Suburb | Australian ranking |
| Courtney Webeck | Gloucester, NSW | B2 Singles – #1 B2 Open Doubles – #2 B3 Open Doubles – #6 |
| Courtney Lewis | Darlington, SA | B2 Singles – #2 B2 Open Doubles – #2 B3 Open Doubles – #8 |
| Grace Hobbs | Beaumont Hills, NSW | B4 Open Singles – #6 B4 Open Doubles – #1 |
| Phoebe David | Moonee Ponds, Vic | B3 Singles – #2 B3 Open Doubles – #7 |
| Summer Giddings | Wentworth Point, NSW | N/A |
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