Tennis wheelchairs have evolved a lot over the last 30 years, with various designs having had three, four, five or six wheels.

Today, the most common design has either five or six wheels, consisting of the two large wheels used for pushing, with two small caster-type wheels at the front and either one or two small; caster-type wheels at the back called anti-tip wheels.

Click here to see Peter Norfolk's chair and read about the importance of it's component parts!

The large wheels that a player uses for pushing the chair are cambered (slanted outwards from top to bottom), which gives the player greater stability and enables him or her to manoeuvre efficiently around the court.

Modern tennis wheelchairs are made of lightweight materials, such as titanium, and a number of major manufacturers now offer several models of tennis wheelchairs. The most important thing is to find a chair that suits your needs and that fits you. If you are buying a new tennis chair, having the chair custom-built to your measurements will help you get the most out of your abilities on court.

A good way of finding second hand tennis chairs for sale is to join the National Wheelchair Tennis Association, which will entitle you to start receiving newsletters and information.

Both the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust and the Lord’s Taverners Sports Wheelchair Sponsorship Scheme offer funding support towards the cost of buying new tennis wheelchairs.  The Lord’s Taverners Scheme is aimed at those between 8 and 25 years of age.

For more information about the Dan Maskell Trust, please click here

For more information about the Lord’s Taverners Sports Wheelchair Sponsorship Scheme, please click here