Tennis

Australian Open Wheelchair 2023 Events

Interested in watching the Australian Open wheelchair events in 2023? Check out the key information right here.

Australian Open Wheelchair 2023 Events – Quick Rundown

The Australian Open is one of the four Grand Slams held each year. And while this tournament obviously gains plenty of recognition for the singles and doubles events, there are others being played over this two week period. Specifically, the Australian Open wheelchair events are some that tennis fans tend to overlook. That’s not because wheelchair tennis isn’t entertaining – it’s simply because the singles and doubles tournaments sometimes steal all the attention.

With that in mind, if you are seeking some details on the wheelchair tournaments for the 2023 Australian Open, you’ve come to the right spot. Below, we shall discuss the event formats, the structure of the matches, and more. So let’s get started right away.

The different Australian Open wheelchair tournaments

The actual format for each of the individual wheelchair events is different from one another. This can be due to the draw size, the format of the matches, and more. However, rather than give you an overview to work with, the best option is to break down each event and discuss the key details. That’s precisely what we’ve done through each of the events listed below:

Men’s Singles

Starting with the men’s singles, the size of the draw is 16. This means that 16 players will compete for a chance to win the tournament. Matches are played as the best of three sets, and the ball is allowed to bounce twice. This rule remains consistent for all of the Australian Open wheelchair events, not just men’s singles. Note that the third set is a full third set, with a match tie-break to decide the match if required.

Day 5 – the final

Day 5 brought immense joy for the Brit Alfie Hewett as he won his first ever Australian Open Singles title after losing the finals both in 2021 and 2022. Hewett, the world number 1, left no doubt he was the deserved champion and he had some problems only very early on in the title-match against the number 3 seed Oda.

Hewett never had his serve broken in this contest and once securing set 1 6-3 he was simply unstoppable. He dropped just 1 more game in set 2 and with this won his 7th Grand Slam Singles title and first in Melbourne. This concluded a perfect tournament for the Brit who also won the Men’s Wheelchair Doubles title, with Hewett never dropping a set either on Singles or Doubles during this tournament.

Women’s Singles

In an exact mirror image of the men’s singles, the women’s singles consist of 16 players too. The women also play following a best-of-three set format, which is different from the men’s and women’s singles events for the main tournament. Once again, a tie-break will decide the match if it goes to 6-6 in the final set, which doesn’t happen all that often. And since this is a 16-player draw, an individual must win four matches in a row to win the championships.

Day 5 – the final

Day 5 produced a dramatic final between the top 2 players in the world that needed 3 sets to decide the champion. The world number 1 and big favourite for the title De Groot looked in serious trouble after losing the opening set of the final against the world number 2 Kamiji 0-6. The nerves played part in that with De Groot amassing 14 unforced errors in the set.

As true champion De Groot found her form in sets 2 and 3 though, committing only 7 more unforced errors in these 2 sets. At the same time being only a set away from the title saw Kamiji starting to make more and more errors. This saw De Groot winning both sets 6-2, 6-2 and with this lifting the trophy to record Singles and Doubles double, just like Hewett did in the Men’s event.

Australian Open Wheelchair

Men’s / Women’s Doubles

We’ve put this under one category as the format is exactly the same for both men’s and women’s doubles competitions. These matches are also played as the best of three sets, only the third set is a championship tie-break instead of a full set. This is actually fairly common in doubles, and for those who don’t know, a championship tie-break is played to 10 points instead of 7. As for the draw size, a total of 8 teams will compete in both events. This makes a total of 16 players.

Day 3 Results

Day 3 of the Men’s Wheelchair Doubles saw the all-British pair Hewett/Reid winning their fourth consecutive Australian Open title with what was a pretty easy 6-1, 6-2 victory over their surprised opponents Scheffers/Spaargaren. The Brits dominated from start to finish in this match and were never in doubt on the way to their 16th Grand Slam title as a pair.

Day 3 of the Women’s Wheelchair Doubles saw the world number 1 De Groot/Van Koot defeat the world number 2 Kamiji/Zhu in quick straight sets to lift the title. As we predicted the Dutch pair targeted Zhu’s weak serve and this gave them decisive advantage on way to a 6-3, 6-2 triumph. De Groot/Van Koot never had their serve broken on way to this title and they left no doubt that they were the deserved winners.

Summary

In both the Men’s and Women’s Wheelchair Doubles events the favourites won the titles and they did so in style. There were some upsets on the way though. Probably the biggest came on day 1 of the Men’s Doubles when the world number 1 duo Fernandez/De la Puente lost in straight sets against Scheffers/Spaargaren.

With the Women’s Doubles there were no such dramas. The 2 seeded pairs made it to the final, the number 1 seed won that matchup. There were no 3-set matches the entire tournament and all-in-all all the favourites won their duels and lost when they were the underdogs.

Quad Singles

Although the previous competitions have all been standard wheelchair events, a different tournament known as ‘quads’ is also played at the Australian Open. These are events reserved for players who have a disability relating to one of the upper limbs, not just the lower body. Given the additional restriction, it makes sense to have a separate tournament where those suffering such a disability can compete against one another.

Despite the physical restrictions, however, quad singles are played in the same format as regular singles. And the draw size consists of 8 players rather than 16.

Day 5 – the final

Day 5 of the Quad Singles saw the final being contested by the 2 top players in the world, who also happen to be both Dutch and doubles partners.

The world number 1 Vink was widely expected to edge the number 2 seed Schroeder simply because he was won their last 2 matchups before this final. However, on that particular occasion Schroeder was off to a fast start and 2 early breaks helped him to win set 1 6-2. Vick fought back in the second set and he had a 3-1 lead, but then Schroeder began to hit some audacious winners again and thanks to a decisive break at 5-5 was able to wrap up the game in straight sets.

Vick missed out on a perfect tournament, but this honour was reserved for his countryman Schroeder who won both the Singles and Doubles titles in Melbourne.

Quad Doubles

As you’ve no doubt guessed at this point, quad doubles follow the same match format mentioned earlier. To quickly remind you, this means each game is played as the best of three sets. Yet if the match goes to a deciding set, the players compete in a championship tie-break to 10 points. The draw size for this event is also 8 players, meaning that there are just 4 pairs involved.

Day 3 Results

As we expected the world number 1 Vink/Schroder cruised to the title of the Quad Doubles with 6-1, 6-3 victory over Ramphadi/Silva. The underdogs tried to put up a fight in the second set when they even led early on, but ultimately the devastating ground strokes of the Dutch pair left their opponents helpless.

Summary

The number 1 pair Vink/Schroder cruised to this title with just 5 games dropped in their 2 clean wins. With this tournament having only semifinals and a final it wasn’t hard and neither spend too much energy.

Australian Open wheelchair events FAQs

Who is the most successful player in wheelchair singles events?

Looking back over the last 20 years, the Japanese player, Shingo Kunieda has been the most successful player.

Are there any female players that have dominated the singles tournaments?

As it happens, yes there are. In recent times, the Dutch player, Diede De Groot has been the most successful player in women’s singles. She has captured two of the last three singles titles, winning a thrilling match in 2021 in a final set tie-break.

Who are the favourites to win the singles/doubles events at the 2023 Australian Open?

For both the women’s singles and doubles, Diede De Groot is the definite favourite. As for the men, Shingo Kunieda is the favourite once again. Yet Alfie Hewitt and Gordon Reid are favourites for the doubles.

Can I wager on wheelchair tennis for the Australian Open?

Yes, certain bookmakers in the UK do allow you to bet on wheelchair tennis.


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