From 27 September the World Cup for nations. The medalists of the Paralympics will also be competing
ALGHERO. Alberto Corradi arrived at tennis as an adult. He found out when a moped accident had forced him into a wheelchair for years. “Love at first sight,” he always said. Once the racket was challenged, he proved to be a talent: three individual titles, the last in 2020, and the consecration to the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, at the age of 55. Now that he has left his racket, Corradi talks to young people about the beauty of wheelchair tennis and organizes tournaments.
It is all thanks to him if for the second time (the first in 2017) one of the most anticipated events of this discipline returns to Sardinia, the Bnp Paribas World team Cup wheelchair tennis, the wheelchair tennis world cup for Nations. In Alghero, from 27 September to 3 October, on the fields of the Baia di Conte resort. Twenty-four nations will compete for the prestigious title, in the competition all the strongest players in the world of tennis in wheelchairs, in the Open (disability of the lower limbs) and Quad (lower and upper) categories, with all the winners medaled at the last Paralympics of Tokyo. A few names? The French Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer, gold in the doubles at the Tokyo Paralympics, and the British Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid. There will also be the Italian men’s national team, among the players also Luca Arca, di Bono, fresh winner of the international tournament in Madrid, with Antonio Cippo and Luca Spano.
The event, organized by the Sassari association Sardinia Open with the patronage of the Municipality of Alghero, the Region, the Italian Paralympic Committee, Fit, Coni and the Alghero Foundation, was presented yesterday by the mayor of Alghero Mario Conoci, by the president of the Council Michele Pais, the councilor for Sport Maria Grazia Salaris and Alberto Corradi himself. “We are proud that Alghero will become the capital of wheelchair tennis for a week, a beautiful sight to see,” said the mayor. To allow the public to watch the races, Arst will guarantee daily connections between Alghero and Porto Conte.
«The World Cup will bring to the island more than 500 people including athletes, coaches and staff representing 24 nations, including 180 wheelchair-bound athletes, among the strongest players in the world. After the Paralympics, the World Cup for nations is the most important international event, it is our Davis Cup – explained Alberto Corradi -, I am happy that the event is back in Sardinia. The only regret is for the Italian women’s national team which failed to qualify, a shame ». The World Cup will be broadcast live by the most important international and national televisions (live on Sky, Supertennis and Rai), as well as live streaming on the Fit web platform and on the sardiniaopen.net portal. Then an invitation to the fans. «Come and see the races, it will be a surprise. Wheelchair tennis is a spectacular live sport, at a certain point you see it from a technical point of view and you forget about the wheelchair ».