Selva Ramasamy KC, Queen’s Club member and member of the LTA IDAG (Inclusion and Diversity Advisory Group) shares his experience of the recent Lexus Wheelchair Experience Event at the National Tennis Centre where he and his son, got to meet and play against Alfie Hewitt.
I entered a competition run by the LTA and Lexus. I usually have a very low (i.e. zero) win rate in competitions, but this was the golden ticket. The prize was a morning at the National Tennis Centre, learning about wheelchair tennis with GB's 30 times Grand Slam winner Alfie Hewitt. My son Kiran, also a QC member and a tennis nut, was invited to join me.
We arrived at the NTC to be met by the very helpful Ryan, one of Lexus’s sponsorship agents. Lexus is now an official sponsor of the LTA, and it was great to learn that Lexus is particularly interested in supporting inclusion and development of tennis at "grassroots” level. The Lexus and LTA teams had really set things up well - we were shown to a private lounge overlooking the indoor courts where we could see a range of wheelchairs and other equipment laid out ready for us. The other competition winners arrived, and we had a chance to chat before being shown down to court where Alfie Hewitt was waiting for us, along with one of the LTA’s top wheelchair tennis coaches. We had a chance for a brief chat with Alfie, who was immediately incredibly friendly and encouraging of his star-struck audience. We were then given a wheelchair each, and there was a crash course (literal, in my case) in how to move about. The chairs are amazingly stable and responsive, and we tried to develop our skills with a cat and mouse game in pairs. We then picked up our rackets and had a go at hitting - top tips: keep your non-racket hand on a wheel, or you spin as you hit the ball; keep moving at all times or you’ll never overcome the inertia in time to make your shot; and you have to get used to your racket hand holding a wheel and the racket at the same time. It was really difficult getting to the right place to strike the ball cleanly - I kept overshooting in enthusiasm, and finding that the ball was in my face, not on my strings. Annoyingly my son Kiran seemed to get the hang of it quite quickly. We then moved on to serving (top tip - use a kick serve for net clearance. The chairs have a small wheel at the back which stops you tipping backwards, so you can put some zip on it). We played out some points against the other guests - it was a lot of fun, and it's incredibly satisfying when it all comes together and you get a rally. The high point of the day was that each of us got to play two games against Alfie - the first game with each guest in a wheelchair (you can guess the results), and the second game with each guest out of their wheelchair. This was where Alfie dialled it up - it was extraordinary to see the power and spin he generated, and his anticipation and court speed were phenomenal. As with any professional tennis player, it’s impressive seeing them on TV, even more impressive to see them live, and to have the privilege of trying to hit with (ie being destroyed by) a 30 times Grand Slam Champion was awe inspiring. We all came away with an even greater respect for Alfie and for the achievements of all our brilliant GB wheelchair players.
I am a huge supporter of inclusion in tennis. Since 2022 I have been a member of the LTA’s Board level Inclusion and Diversity Advisory Group (“IDAG”) - we provide external advice and guidance to the LTA to help it with its Inclusion Strategy, which is part of its bigger "Tennis Opened Up” plan, to get more people involved in tennis. I really do encourage people to google those terms and to have a look at the amazing work which the LTA is doing to help people who might think of tennis as exclusive, stuffy or inaccessible to think again. As a QC member I have been very proud to be able to discuss with the LTA the brilliant work which the Queen’s Club Foundation, the Club’s official charity, has been doing in recent years. I think it is fair to say that the QCF is now seen as an example of excellence in inclusion and outreach, and I am proud that as a world class club, Queen’s is showing such powerful leadership. I encourage everyone to get involved with the QCF’s events, and to read the recent Impact Report, which sets out the huge achievements of the QCF in furthering its mission: "Improving Lives through Racket Sports".
The QCF is launching in 2025 its new Inclusive Player Pathway Project, funded by QC member Aditya Mittal. This 5 year project will support children in tennis with all disabilities from grassroots to performance level. During the first phase of the project, the focus is on wheelchair and Para-Standing players. I am delighted to have experienced, thanks to the LTA at first hand, wheelchair tennis and will be following and supporting closely the QCF’s valuable work in this area to enable more and more children to access the sport.
Selva Ramasamy KC
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