Inform disabled » Paralympic tennis played standing up with 29 male and female athletes of 12 different nationalities returns to the Monviso Sporting Club in Grugliasco

by Marco Berton

After the excellent results obtained with the first Training Camp with Tournament ever held in Italy, Sportdipiù is preparing to bring para-standing tennis back to the national territory. This year, the commitment of the Turin association founded in 2000 to promote sporting activity among people with disabilities will materialize through the second edition of the Demonstration Tournament (stage of the international circuit), in what has now become the real home of this emerging discipline: the Monviso Sporting Club of Corso Allamano 25 a Grugliasco (TO); the appointment is set for Saturday 29 (9-18)Sunday April 30th (9-18) it’s Monday 1° maggio 2023 (9-14).

Para Standing Tennis is the version of Paralympic tennis specifically designed for those who can play standing up. At international level it is promoted by the International Para Standing Tennis Association, an organization that aims to officially include it in the Paralympic program alongside it, as already happens in table tennis and badminton, with the “sitting” version better known as wheelchair tennis; to do so, a dialogue is currently underway with the ITF International Tennis Federation. At the Grugliasco Demonstration Tournament, the players will be divided into 4 tables:

PST1 Disability in the upper limbs or similar and PST2 Amputations of the lower limbs below the knee or similar:

• Singles: 4 Round Robins. The top 2 of each group advance to the quarterfinals.
• Doubles: direct elimination from the quarterfinals

pst3 Amputations of the lower limbs above the knee or similar

• Singles: 4 Round Robins. The top 2 of each group advance to the quarterfinals.
• Doubles: direct elimination from the quarterfinals

On the Monviso fields, 29 male and female athletes of 12 different nationalities will compete (Italy, Brazil, Chile, Sweden, Austria, Spain, United Kingdom, Argentina, Denmark, France, Japan and United States). Among them will be the best performers of the discipline, seeded in the Tournament: this is the President of the International Para Standing Tennis Association Ivan Corretja, Thalita Silva Rodrigues, Franco Brino, Matthias Höll, Eduardo Perez, Harald Von Koch, Luis Andrés Viñales Hidalgo, Shunsuke Kishi e Daniel Robert Writer.

Among the participants there will also be ours Gregory Leperdi, Vice-President of the International Para Standing Tennis Association and organizer of the Tournament: «I thank – declares – heartily Sportdipiu, the sponsors and volunteers who made this event possible. I am very satisfied with the presence of the best interpreters of this discipline: not being recognized yet, I am aware of the economic efforts of each of them. This tournament and the visibility it will give worldwide are in perfect timing with the proposal of the “International PST Association” to the ITF to support, promote and develop this discipline, with the aim of combining Standing and Sitting classes at the Paralympic level, such as it is already done with table tennis and badminton. I remind you that, from a quick census performed, there are more than 300 athletes in 25 countries and 5 continents, but potentially there could be many more given that only about 10% of disabled people worldwide use a wheelchair».

Sportdipiù thanks you sincerely Monviso Sporting Club, Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, Di Mariano Orthopedic Workshop, Dunlop, all the sponsor eh volunteers that will make this event possible. The event has obtained the patronage of the Region PiedmontMetropolitan City of TorinoMunicipality of Grugliasco e Italian Paralympic Committee.

Sponsor: EyesOn, Volo 2006, Rapid String, Dabbene Pharmacies, Bauer, OneWaySport, Lauretana, Pizzeria Silvestro, Osteopathic Luca Billonio, Autocarrozzeria Nuovo Jolly, Ver Plast Group, Beneficentia, Angelini Pharma, Reply, Megadyne, Barricalla, Dondi Salotti.

The event will be broadcast in streaming are Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@parastandingtennisparastan745) and can be followed through the social channels of Sportdipiù and Monviso Sporting Club

The results will be available daily on the Sportdipiù website (https://www.sportdipiu.it/)