Empowering people to achieve extraordinary things
Recognised as a world leader in Para and disability sport, we are supporting the evolution of wheelchair tennis - widening participation and enhancing the safety and wellbeing of players at every level.
The University is a world leader in Para and disability sport science, performance and participation.
This achievement was recognised in February 2026 by a Queen Elizabeth Prize for Education, the highest national honour awarded to educational institutions in the UK.
The Prize recognises our unique Para and disability sport ecosystem. Our sports and research facilities, exceptional coaching and wellbeing support services are first class. Combined, these elements create an environment that empowers people to achieve extraordinary things.
Eight
Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Education
We are among the most highly acclaimed UK institutions
Our School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences – which celebrates its golden jubilee this academic year – is unrivalled in terms of its teaching and research.
It is home to the internationally renowned Centre for Para and Disability Sport Innovation (formerly, the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport).
For two decades, the Centre has played a pivotal role in driving Britain’s success in Para sport while influencing international policy and practice.
This pioneering position is cemented by our strategic partnerships with a range of organisations, including with ParalympicsGB.
Together, we are proud to inspire excellence across sports science research and performance while encouraging inclusive participation at grassroots level.
Inspiring success, expanding participation
“I’m hugely proud of the fact that Loughborough University and ParalympicsGB have such a long history of working collaboratively.”
Penny Briscoe CBE – ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission
Our relationship with ParalympicsGB guides our ongoing research and collaborations within the sector.
Together, we address the most pressing and pertinent challenges within Para and disability sport.
ParalympicsGB achieved remarkable success at Paris 2024, securing 124 medals across 18 sports and a third consecutive second-place finish in the medal table.
This included three medals in wheelchair tennis events, ranking second overall. Inspired by this triumph, and our role in it, we remain committed to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for both elite athletes and recreational participants.
Supporting the evolution of wheelchair tennis
Wheelchair tennis celebrates its half century this year. Since its inception in 1976, it has grown in popularity, enjoyed increased funding as well as greater integration with the mainstream game, including at international tournaments.
We have supported this evolution for 20 years – providing the robust scientific data that advance elite athlete performance and health as well as innovative enhancements to player equipment. This year we are helping to curate a special semicentennial exhibition at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum.
Alongside delivering major scientific and technological breakthroughs, we are honoured to work with so many athletes and recreational players to provide greater opportunities for safe, inclusive participation for everyone.
Crucially, the relationship between these dual aspects of our work is two-way. Our research informs the game while the challenges faced by players guide our research strategy. In addition, we contest the prevalent one-size-fits-all approach – acknowledging that everyone is an individual with a range of needs that often require a unique, personalised solution.
This holistic approach exemplifies the capacity of our Para and disability sport ecosystem to deliver positive change.
"The University’s expertise in wheelchair mobility research has had an immediate and tangible impact, contributing to wheelchair tennis’s inclusivity at the highest levels."
Enhancing inclusive participation
Despite wheelchair tennis’ growing popularity, concern about grass court damage has limited its inclusion in prestigious tournaments.
Our research – in partnership with Wimbledon, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), RGK Wheelchairs (RGK) and UK Sports Institute – has shown that, with specific wheelchair modifications, it can be played on grass without harming the playing surface.
This breakthrough is now reflected in the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) Grand Slam Rule Book 2025, increasing AELTC ground staff’s confidence to prepare for wheelchair games at Wimbledon, including greater use of showcase courts.
What’s more, players such as Alfie Hewett OBE PLY, acknowledge the role of our chair configuration research in their achievements. In Hewett’s case, this includes a Wimbledon win and Paralympic Gold in 2024. In addition, he and Gordon Reid OBE PLY became Britain’s first wheelchair Men’s Doubles Paralympic champions in 2024.
Giving Alfie Hewett a competitive edge
This change in the elite sphere will percolate through every level of the game, influencing recreational play – overcoming barriers and stigma, creating opportunities and enhancing inclusive grassroots participation.
We have repeatedly witnessed the inspiring impact that encouraging inclusive play has – including on our own campus among our students.
"My newly adopted chair configuration contributed towards my securing the 2024 Wimbledon singles title and defending my doubles title."
Keep cool and carry on
Summer events and hot climates pose a significant and growing challenge within sport, especially for disabled athletes.
Working with British Triathlon, we developed an innovative heat mitigation strategy that combines two approaches – the use of ice slurry and heat acclimation.
Other sports, including wheelchair tennis, adopted our cooling technique during the Tokyo and Paris Games. An international survey of Para athletes, following the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, indicated that the use of heat mitigation strategies is increasing, while instances of exertional heat illness are decreasing.
Our work is ongoing as we strive to provide strategies that ensure Para sport continues to flourish – whatever the weather.
"We prepared ice slurries for players in Tokyo so they could cool rapidly courtside. It was a small intervention, but it made a meaningful difference in managing the extreme heat."
Opportunity is key
Loughborough Sport provides students who have sporting ambitions with all the support they need to flourish as well as ample opportunities to play and develop in their chosen discipline, including wheelchair tennis.
Abbie Breakwell PLY (Sport and Exercise Therapy, Loughborough College 2025) thrived within our sport ecosystem and her energy is inspiring.
Alongside enhancing her own on-court performance, she began her coaching career with us, facilitating our weekly recreational wheelchair tennis sessions which are open to all students and staff.
She also helped instigate the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) wheelchair tennis event – winning the title five years running, before competing as part of ParalympicsGB at Paris 2024.
Alongside honing her own game, she continues to support our recreational offering and, as part of the ParalympicsGB Equal Play campaign, led a session of wheelchair tennis on campus to inspire more young disabled children to get involved.
She also continues to coach other aspiring athletes, such as our latest rising star, Lily Bignell (Business Analytics, 2028) who she has encouraged to support our recreational players.
"The University's support has been unwavering, enabling me to compete at Paris 2024. They believed in me, supporting my progress and giving me the confidence to achieve – I’m incredibly proud to part of the Loughborough team."
Creating inspiring opportunities
This summer, we look forward to hosting the Loughborough International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior Series Wheelchair Tennis Tournament – not least to provide our PhD students with an opportunity to further their research in playing surfaces and heat mitigation strategies.
No stranger to managing prestigious events of this kind, in 2017, we hosted the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters – the season-ending championship for top-ranked players on the ITF UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour. It was an honour to welcome top-flight players like David Wagner and Diede de Groot.
Since then, we have hosted the ITF Indoor Wheelchair Tennis Tournament (2021) which featured world-class UK players, including GB Paralympians Jordanne Whiley MBE PLY, Alfie Hewett OBE PLY and Gregory Slade PLY who won a silver medal in 2024 at his very first Paralympic Games.
Hosting these kinds of competitions on campus provides us with the perfect platform for showcasing wheelchair tennis, promoting it as an inclusive and accessible sport – encouraging other aspiring athletes and players.
Being on campus, they also offer scope for working with athletes to address the challenges they face – inspiring us to pursue new research areas.
"We’re excited that Loughborough is hosting an ITF Wheelchair Tennis Junior Event, showcasing the next generation during the sport’s 50th anniversary. As a world leader in Para sport development, it’s a prime host."
Committed to progress
We are proud of our role in championing Para and disability sport, both through our pioneering research discoveries and by facilitating participation for everyone.
Far from resting on our laurels, we continue to work with our partners – striving to break down barriers, encouraging equity of opportunity and ensuring ongoing success on the world stage.
Built with Shorthand