US Open: Organisers cancel wheelchair tennis for 2024
Wheelchair tennis will not take place at the 2024 US Open due to a scheduling clash with next year’s Paralympics.
The 2024 US Open starts on August 26 and ends on September 8, with the Paralympics in Paris held in the same fortnight.
It’s the fourth time wheelchair events have been cancelled at Flushing Meadows for the same reason – 2008, 2012 and 2016 were the previous years.
Alfie Hewett defeated Gordon Reid in an all-British men’s wheelchair singles final at this year’s tournament and Diede de Groot from the Netherlands beat Japan’s Yui Kamiji in the women’s singles.
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Andy Lapthorne, who reached the wheelchair quad doubles final and has won the title twice in his career, has criticised the decision from the US Open.
Britian’s Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett reached the men’s wheelchair doubles semi-finals in 2023, and both played in the singles final
“It’s disappointing and from a player point of view, I’m trying to speak up for the playing group because there’s a lot of players from countries who literally rely on the four Grand Slams for their income, to pay their bills and to continue to play on the tour,” Lapthorne told BBC Sport.
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“To lose one of the biggest events of the year, especially at the end of the year, is going to be really tough for a lot of the playing group. You’re literally asking them to go from Wimbledon in July to the end of the Australian Open, which will be the start of February, with no real pay. It’s a tough situation but I hope we can find a solution on this occasion.”