30 August 2023 | Tennis Victoria

Australia’s 11-person Blind and Low Vision tennis team has finished top of the medal tally at the IBSA World Games, winning nine medals in total, including five gold, two silver and two bronze in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

The 2023 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Games is the largest high-level international event for athletes with a visual impairment and debuted tennis for the first time this year.

On the men’s side, B4 Singles player Ross Patterson (Vic) and B3 Single’s player Michael Leigh (NSW) won gold medals for their respective events, as well as gold in the B2/4 Men’s Doubles.

B2 Singles player Mark Haskett (SA) took home two silver medals, one alongside B2/4 doubles partner and youngest player in the games, Arato Katsuda-Green (NSW), who at just 12 years old also won a bronze medal in the B4 Men’s Singles.

On the women’s side, Grace Hobbs (NSW) and Courtney Webeck (NSW) won gold in the B2/4 Women’s Doubles. Hobbs also took home another gold medal in the B4 Women’s Singles, while Webeck claimed bronze in the B2 Women’s Singles.

“I am extremely proud to have been the coach of the Australian tennis team. Not only did the team perform unbelievably well on court, but they also carried themselves well off court and made Australia proud,” said Australian Head Coach Steve Manley.

“While the level of play was beyond our expectation, our players rose to the occasion to match the best in the world,” he added.

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.

Final results

Men’s B4 Singles

Gold – Ross Patterson (Vic)

Bronze – Arato Katsuda-Green (NSW)

Men’s B3 Singles

Gold – Michael Leigh (NSW)

Men’s B2 Singles

Silver – Mark Haskett (SA)

Women’s B4 Singles

Gold – Grace Hobbs (NSW)

 

Women’s B2 Singles

Bronze – Courtney Webeck (NSW)

Men’s B2/4 Doubles

Gold – Michael Leigh (NSW)/Ross Patterson (Vic)

Silver – Mark Haskett (SA)/Arato Katsuda-Green (NSW)

Women’s B2/4 Doubles

Gold – Grace Hobbs (NSW)/Courtney Webeck (NSW)

The next major international tournament on the BLV tennis calendar is the 2023 IBTA World Championships in Poland from 30 September 2023.