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High-roller hopeful stalls

Chloe FraserSound Telegraph
Professional wheelchair tennis player and WA No.1 Wayne Arnott.
Camera IconProfessional wheelchair tennis player and WA No.1 Wayne Arnott. Credit: Chloe Fraser

A Safety Bay athlete is hoping to garner support to start a wheelchair tennis tournament in Rockingham in an effort to get more people in WA involved in the sport.

Professional wheelchair tennis player and WA No.1 Wayne Arnott, who had a leg amputated in 2012, said he has always had a passion for tennis but competitive opportunities for wheelchair-bound athletes were lacking in WA.

“There are a few social players in WA but wheelchair basketball and rugby are more common here,” he said.

“WA is the only State that doesn’t have a wheelchair tennis tournament.

“I know a lot of people who would play wheelchair tennis if they were given the opportunity to.”

Arnott will compete in the Australian Wheelchair National Championships in Melbourne next month, kicking off a spate of competitions on his campaign to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

“One of the biggest challenges is that all of the Australian Wheelchair Tennis selectors are over east,” he said.

“Because we’ve got nothing here and I can only play one tournament every few months, I’m not getting exposure.

“I’d have to do about eight tournaments spread all over the world between now and the Paralympics to be selected.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring Arnott or a Rockingham-based tournament can email w.arnott@yahoo.com

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