The squad of tennis players that will travel to Tokyo to represent Team GB and ParalympicsGB at this year’s rearranged Summer Olympics has been confirmed by the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association.
The Lawn Tennis Association and Tennis Scotland report that the squad announcement, made on Thursday, was the first time that both teams have ever been jointly revealed in history, with the final British squad of tennis players boasting three Olympic medals and 11 Paralympic medals between them.
The Lawn Tennis Association’s Olympic Team Leader, Ian Bates, commented: “It’s an exciting day to see both our Olympic and Paralympic teams announced together for the first time ever.
"We are thrilled about the players who have made themselves available for selection to go to Tokyo and head there with a real chance of medal success across various events.
"We also recognise the many challenges everyone has faced over the last 15 months and the amount of work it’s taken behind the scenes to get these Games on. With huge support from the British Olympic Association, the team and the Lawn Tennis Association, we believe we are well prepared to meet the demands of competing in Tokyo and we are really looking forward to it.”
In this year’s Olympics, Dan Evans and Andy Murray will be representing Team GB in the Men’s Singles, with Johanna Konta and Heather Watson selected for the Women’s Singles.
In the Men’s Doubles, Dan Evans will play in tandem with Neal Skupski, while Andy Murray links up with Joe Salisbury. Johanna Konta and Heather Watson form the lone pair representing Great Britain in the Women’s Singles.
The line-up for the Mixed Doubles is yet to be confirmed and will be revealed following the tennis ranking cut-off.
Among the Olympics line-up, Andy Murray and Gordon Reid have both won gold medals in previous games, with Murray having taken gold at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 editions. Reid’s gold medal came at Rio 2016, where he beat compatriot Hewett to top spot on the podium. Hewett took home two silver medals from Rio, from the Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles events.
Among the Men’s line-up, Joe Salisbury, Dan Evans and Neal Skupski are all competing at their first Olympics. In the Women’s competitions, Heather Watson and Johanna Konta make their third and second appearances at the Games, respectively.
For ParalympicsGB, Alfie Hewett, Gordon Reid and Dermot Bailey will contest the Men’s Singles, and Jordanne Whiley and Lucy Shuker will compete in the Women’s Singles.
Andy Lapthorne has been selected to play in the Men’s Quads, while Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid form Great Britain’s only duo for the Men’s Doubles. For the Women’s Doubles in the Paralympics, Jordanne Whiley and Lucy Shuker join forces in pursuit of the podium.
Lapthorne has enjoyed previous success at the Paralympics having taken silver at the quad doubles at London 2012, as well as a bronze medal in the doubles and a silver in the singles at Rio 2016. Whiley and Shuker have also won bronze in the doubles at both of the last two editions of the Games in London and Rio. Bailey is the only Paralympic debutant to be named in the squad this year.
The Lawn Tennis Association’s Wheelchair Performance Support Lead and ParalympicsGB Wheelchair Tennis Team Leader, Cain Berry, said that the joint announcement of both squads was an “exciting moment” for the tennis governing bodies, the athletes, and the sport at large.
“This is an exciting moment both for us as a governing body and the athletes, all of whom richly deserve their places in the team and will do their country proud, I’m sure.
“We’re very pleased to be celebrating both sets of players on the same day. It has been a phenomenal effort from a number of organisations to get these Games on, and we are really grateful to the British Paralympic Association for their continued support. We’re all really excited for Games time now.”
