As excitement builds for Wimbledon 2014, the inaugural Special Olympics European Tennis Day will take place across Europe on Monday June 16th. With more than 2,000 players with intellectual disabilities participating in 200 events across nine countries, European Tennis Day is backed by Tennis Europe and a host of national tennis federations and professional players.
European Tennis Day will be celebrated in Austria, Finland, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Luxembourg, Romania and Turkey. Many European tennis stars have signed up to support the day including Hungary’s Agnes Szavay, Russia’s Anastasia Myskina and Alex Lisiecki, coach to Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller.
Many people with intellectual disabilities lose chances to participate in tennis due to being seen by their peers as ‘different’ or ‘without ability’. The Special Olympics European Tennis Day brings the European tennis community together to create more opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities in the sport as well as celebrating the athletes’ abilities.
Unified Tennis® matches and experiences will serve as highlights of the day giving young people with and without intellectual disabilities the opportunity to compete together and enjoy the benefit of friendship on and off the court.
Regional President of Special Olympics Europe Eurasia, Mary Davis said: “European Tennis Day provides a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved in tennis to promote respect, acceptance and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities. As we prepare to enjoy Wimbledon this month, European Tennis Day is a timely opportunity for all to show their support for Special Olympics athletes. Thanks to the generosity of Tennis Europe on June 16th, we have an exciting schedule of events planned across Europe and I encourage everyone to get out and support these events and the athletes taking part.”
Tennis Europe President Jacques Dupré said: “Tennis Europe is proud to support the Special Olympics European Tennis Day on June 16th. It is a wonderful opportunity to bring the tennis community together in Europe in a strong show of support for players with intellectual disabilities. More opportunities create more awareness of the talents and abilities of Special Olympics athletes so we are very honoured to support this tennis initiative, which I hope becomes an annual event.”
Tennis is one of the most popular of the 33 official sports offered by Special Olympics with more than 4,000 registered tennis players in 58 countries.
Some of the action taking place on 2014 European Tennis Day includes:
Special Olympics Ambassador Agnes Szavay will be joined by Gergely Kisgyörgy and four other Hungarian stars to spend the day participating in clinics and Unified Tennis experience with Special Olympics athletes in Budapest. The day will end with a free concert with Hungarian star Anita for all the athletes.
In Luxembourg, Alex Lisiecki will team up with Gilles Muller’s Luxembourg Davis Cup team mate Jacques Radoux, to lead an open tennis day on the courts of TC Stade inviting athletes with intellectual disabilities to try the game. It will be followed by a Unified Tennis experience with Luxembourg tennis stars Alex Knaff, Eden Change, Nina Radioux and Lou Thomé pairing up with Special Olympics athletes in doubles exhibition matches.
In Moscow, Russian tennis stars Anastasia Myskina, Mikhail Youzhny and others will participate in a celebrity unified tennis tournament with Special Olympics athletes in a day of activities supported by the Eltzin Foundation.
In Istanbul, similar events will take place on the courts of the Swiss Hotel on the shores of the Bosphorus while in Israel, six tennis centres across the city of Tel Aviv will host Special Olympics athletes for tennis competitions and celebrity unified matches.
For more information visit www.specialolympics.org