Porto Tennis Club plays host to the International wheelchair Tennis Tournament this October

For the third consecutive year, Porto Tennis Club hosts the International wheelchair Tennis Tournament. The competition kicked off on 19th October and concludes today, 21st October. The event is included in the ITF Futures Series, and it athletes from different nationalities, namely Portugal, Brazil, Austria, Holland, Italy, Greece and France.

The tournament is held in the courts of the Porto Tennis Club, and it includes leading figures as the Austrian player Nicolas Langmann, current 34th in the world ranking, the Brazilian Gustavo Carneiro, 37th in the same ranking, Dutch Carlos Anker, who ranks 38th.

Experienced tennis players as Italian Luca Arca and Silviu Culea, as well as Greek Stefanos Diamantis and the French Nicolas Charrier are among the players competing in Porto.

Portuguese players include Jean Paul Melo, who ranks 131th in the world tennis chart; the current national champion, Carlos Leitão, who ranks 136th and João Couceiro, 272th in the ranking. Players are battling for a prize money worth five million dollars.

Councillor for Youth and Sports Catarina Araújo of Porto City Hall was present at the tournament on the second day of the event. Councillor Araújo highlighted the importance of "social inclusion within the Municipality of Porto", adding that "the promotion of sports adapted to disabled people is one of the missions of the municipal company Ágora".

Amid the ongoing pandemic, Catarina Araújo enhanced the tournament's "excellent conditions regarding organization, safety and comfort", in compliance with all the preventive measures issued by the DGS.

The tournament is part of the Tennis International Federation, and it is organised by the Porto Tennis Club, with the support of Porto City Hall, via the municipal company Ágora - Cultura e Desporto do Porto, and the Portuguese Tennis Federation.