David Wagner (US), Andy Lapthorne (UK), Dylan Alcott (Australia) and Lucas Sithole (US) took part in an exhibition match at Wimbledon last year. Quad singles and doubles are now held at all four major tennis tournaments HENRY BROWNE/GETTY IMAGESAt the age of ten, Andy Lapthorne found himself mixing with Serena and Venus Williams thanks to a quirk of the wheelchair access at Wimbledon that sent users through the players’ area. Now, 18 years later, he is hoping to make history by becoming the first quad tennis champion at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. For Lapthorne, rolling out on to the grass courts of SW19 will be the fulfilment of a lifetime ambition and the result of a lot of lobbying for Wimbledon to open its gates to his sport. He started playing tennis when he was ten after coming to terms with the fact that his cerebral palsy meant he would never play football for West Ham United.

Source: The Times June 30, 2019 23:02 UTC