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The road to the red dirt of Roland-Garros for Australia’s wheelchair tennis athletes has been long and winding.
The nation’s two competitors in the men’s open event, veteran Paralympian Ben Weekes and teammate Anderson Parker, have travelled to the many corners of the globe en route to the Games and the famed Parisian clay courts.
Just this year alone, Weekes and Parker have plied their craft in events in Asia and Europe, from exotic locations including Casablanca and Selangor in Malaysia, to help them secure their spots in the 48-strong men’s field, starting on August 30.
Australia will be without its men’s quad representative Heath Davidson after the Rio doubles gold medallist made the heart-breaking decision to withdraw due to an illness in his family.
From David Hall to Dylan Alcott, Australia has a storied and rich history with Paralympic wheelchair tennis. Weekes and Parker, who have varying degrees of experience, will be gunning for glory.
Six-time Paralympian Weekes, 39 and debutant Parker, 26 – both ranked in the 40s – there’s a stack of highly-credentialled competitors they’ll need to overcome.
Weekes, who made his debut at Athens two decades ago and has incomplete paraplegia, is putting every store of energy into what could be his Paralympic swansong.
“I’ve done five before so I’m just grateful to keep being able to do this sport. It’s what I love to do with my life,” Weekes said after a training session at Roland-Garros.
The New South Welshman said he hadn’t made a “definite decision” about calling quits on the sport that has been a mainstay of his life for two decades.
“After Tokyo we [my team] kind of set the goal to prepare for something that was important to me. It’s probably going to be my last Games, so just try and give it my all.
“Qualification was pretty tough. I had to fight pretty hard to get in, spend a lot of time away from home. It was a big commitment. I’m proud of myself and the people who have been supporting me.”
He is acutely aware of the challenge in front of him.
“You’ve just got to give it a crack,” Weekes said.
“I’m a part-time tennis player and I’m up against full-time guys who are doing it for their job.
“It’s always going to be tough for me. But I also know I’ve got a lot of experience. I love playing the clay, especially here the clay is amazing.”
It has been more of a circuitous journey for 26-year-old Parker to get to the Paralympics. Parker, also from NSW, was born with talipes in his right leg, a congenital foot deformity that affects his ability to run.
“It affects the muscle development of my right calf,” Parker said.
“My leg is shorter, my foot is shorter, and I just don’t have the range of motion in my foot, or the muscle to support running. If I do run I’d probably sprain my ankle.”
Parker, a former world No.6 junior, finally gets this shot at Paralympic competition after he was declassified in 2015. He then tried his hand at other Para-sports including wheelchair basketball.
But he was able to get back on the tour in 2022 and picked up a wildcard spot at this year’s Australian Open.
“When I got an opportunity to go to the Australian Open [this year] – I was like ‘if I can go to the Australian Open, then maybe I can see if I can push to Paris’. Fortunately, it was good enough in the Paralympic eyes, because then they invited me with a wildcard to come and compete,” he said.
Parker effectively stumbled across the news two years ago that his impairment meant he was re-eligible for the Paralympics. The news – which he read about on Facebook – allowed him to centre his focus on Paris.
“They changed the rulings [nine years ago] and unfortunately it made me out of the eligibility for that [competition],” Parker said.
While Parker wants to test himself against more highly-credentialled athletes at Roland- Garros, he’s also keeping an eye on ongoing improvement and driving down his ranking.
“Hopefully two years from now, maybe I can break into the top 14, but that would be a mammoth effort,” he said.
Weekes and Parker will also partner up in the doubles.
“I think Ben and I are very good together,” Parker said.
“His strength is at the net and my strength is just pushing and trying to get everything back.”
Watch the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on the 9Network and 9Now live and free, and on Stan Sport from August 28 to September 8.
By: Scott Spits, Paralympics Australia
Published: 28 August 2024
