Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals 2022: Preview, schedule and draw

Find out everything you need to know about the key dates, schedule and who to watch out for.

What is Visually Impaired Tennis?

One of the leading sports for blind and partially sighted people in the UK, Visually Impaired (VI) Tennis was created in Japan in 1984 and is now played in more than 30 countries across the world, with the sport having ambitions to become a future Paralympic sport.

Players compete in different sight categories and depending on a player’s category they may have up to three bounces of the ball before they return it back to their opponent. In the B1 category, for those having the greatest degree of sight loss or no sight, three bounces of the ball are allowed and players typically wear eye masks. B2, B3, B4 and B5 categories are contested by players with different degrees of partial sight, with B2 players allowed three bounces, B3 players allowed two bounces and B4 and B5 players allowed one bounce of the ball.

VI Tennis differs to traditional tennis in that it’s played on a smaller court with a lower net. Courts for B1 players also have tactile lines so that players can touch them - and players use an audible tennis ball that makes noise so they can hear it bounce and being hit.  

What is the Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals?

The Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals is the culmination of the domestic calendar of LTA events for visually impaired tennis players and features many of the country’s – and the world’s – most accomplished players who have typically competed in one or more of nine tournaments held regionally across Great Britain during 2022.

Following standard international sight classification categories, players compete in singles and doubles competition against players in the same or similar sight categories depending on numbers of players. In some instances, sight categories are combined.

With 36 players entered for the Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals 2022, it will be the biggest VI Tennis event this side of the 2023 International Blind Sport Association (IBSA) World Games in Birmingham, where tennis will be part of the sports schedule for the first time.   

When is the Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals 2022?

The Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals will take place from Friday 18 November to Sunday 20 November.

What is the schedule for this year’s Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals 2022?

All draws and daily match schedules during the Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals will be available below 

Draws

Who is set to play at this year’s Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals 2022?

A host of returning and former national champions and international medallists will once again be among the star-studded entry for the Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals, including James Currie, Neil Fradgley, Sarah Fortescue, Rosie Pybus and Paul Ryb - all medallists at the 2019 International Blind Tennis Tournament, the sport’s premier international event last held prior to COVID-19 pandemic.

Naqi Rizvi, Daniel Hopkins, Ryb, Ivan Rodriguez-Deb, Andrea Logan and Lydia Wrightson all return to Wrexham Tennis Centre in a bid to defend singles titles they won at the 2021 National Finals with a total of 36 players setting out with the hope of being crowned champion in this year’s singles and doubles events.  

Where will this year’s Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals take place?

The Visually Impaired Tennis National Finals returns to Wrexham Tennis Centre in North Wales for the second year in a row.

Wrexham Tennis Centre has a long history of hosting LTA international and national wheelchair tournaments, as well as the Learning Disability Tennis National Finals and regional learning disability and visually impaired tennis tournaments.