The ITF has announced that Netherlands will stage two of wheelchair tennis’s major events in 2017 and 2018. The UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters will be held in Bemmel in 2017-18, while the 2018 BNP Paribas World Team Cup will take place in Apeldoorn. Both events will be hosted by the Dutch Tennis Federation (KNLTB) in the province of Gelderland. The 2017 event will be held in November with the dates still to be confirmed.
The UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters is the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis doubles championship. First staged in 2000 in Amersfoort alongside the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, it became a standalone event in 2003, and currently features the world’s top eight men’s pairs, top six women’s pairs and top four quad pairs. UNIQLO has been the event’s title sponsor since 2014 and has extended its sponsorship through 2021 as part of its overall agreement with the ITF.
The BNP Paribas World Team Cup is the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis event, often referred to as the Davis Cup and Fed Cup of wheelchair tennis. The initial event took place in California in 1985 involving six men’s teams. The women’s competition began the following year, with quad and junior events introduced in 1998 and 2000 respectively. The 2017 BNP Paribas World Team Cup will be held in Sardinia, Italy on 1-7 May, with Netherlands seeking to win the women’s title for a landmark 30th time.
