Great Britain Disability National Teams

Visually impaired international tennis event

We support programmes for three disability groups; Learning Disability, Deaf and Visually Impaired Tennis.

We want to nurture players with talent and the will to win so they can fulfil their potential. If an individual shows talent they should be identified by their local coach and referred to us by contacting disabilitytennis@lta.org.uk. Following assessment we will recommend the best route for player development: this may be to join our development squads, or it could lead to individuals representing Great Britain as part of our GB National Team.

All three programmes are for talented players to develop their skills in a performance environment leading to potential selection onto our GB National Teams. Our programmes include professional coaching, personal development, camps and more. Selected GB players get the opportunity to compete internationally at annual events, representing Great Britain at World Championships, European Championships, Deaflympics and Global Games.

2019 Event Calendar:

  • 9-16 June - International Blind Tennis Tournament: Benidorm 2019 (Visually Impaired)
  • 12-19 October - INAS Global Games, Brisbane (Learning Disability)
  • 12-19 October -World Deaf Tennis Championships 2019, Antalya (Deaf)

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Esah Hayat

Lives: Finchley, London
Plays: Right-handed

Esah started playing tennis when he was eight years old and first learnt about deaf tennis through the North London DeaVif Children’s Society in 2013. He subsequently attended a deaf tennis camp at Gosling Tennis Centre, and since then his deaf tennis career has flourished. Esah has gone on to represent Great Britain at the Deaf World Championships and the Deaf European Championships winning gold and silver medals on the world stage. Esah regularly competes in LTA sanctioned events and his sporting hero is Andy Murray.

Phoebe Suthers

Lives: Elland, West Yorkshire
Plays: Right-handed

Phoebe took up tennis aged eight and started playing deaf tennis in 2013 after attending a camp.  She competed in her first National Championships later that year. She now trains four times a week, including county training for Yorkshire. Phoebe joined the Deaf Tennis Programme in 2015 and has since competed in major international deaf tennis events, including World and European Championships. She has achieved Gold and Silver medals at world level and is the current holder of the Solvenia Open Womens singles and Doubles title.

Lewis Fletcher

Lives: Burderop, Wiltshire
Plays: Left-handed

Lewis started playing tennis aged 14. As a junior he competed in numerous tournaments around the country including British Tour events. He joined the Deaf Tennis Programme in 2001, aged 16. From the age of 17 he opted to play full time tennis with the PTR academy in London and went on to represent Great Britain in numerous international Deaf tennis events including winning silver medals at the Dresse Cup, competing in Deaflympics, European Championships and World Championships. Lewis has built a successful coaching career alongside is playing career and he is currently joint head coach at Ramsbury Tennis Club in Wiltshire.

Toby Clifton

Lives: Purley, Surrey
Plays: Right-handed

Toby was inspired to start playing deaf tennis by his brother Jack. Toby joined the Deaf Tennis Programme in 2015. He first represented Great Britain at the Deaf Youth Cup in Hamburg in 2014 and has since represented his country at the 1st World Deaf Tennis Championships in Nottingham in 2015 and the European Deaf Tennis Championships in Slovenia in 2016 where he secures a doubles silver medal. He made his Deaflympics debut in Samsun, Turkey in 2017.

Valerie Copenhagen

Lives: Ruislip, Uxbridge
Plays: Right-Handed

Valerie joined her local tennis club when she was 11 years old playing as part of the junior squad. She heard about Deaf tennis five years ago and after attending a talent ID day at National Tennis Centre, she was invited to join training camps and be part of the Deaf Programme. Since joining the squad she has played at World Championships, European championships and most recently Dresse Marre Cup in Turkey in 2018. Her greatest achievements include being selected for the GB team and getting through to the second round at the World Deaf Tennis Championships in 2016. Valerie works full time as Head of Participation at UK Deaf Sport and has a great passion for sport and volunteering. She is grateful for the opportunities she has been given whilst being on the National team and is determined to work hard and aspire to win a medal one in the near future.

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Fabrice Higgins

Lives: Chorley, Lancashire
Plays: Right-handed

Fabrice started playing tennis at the age of six, after his grandmother bought him a cheap wooden tennis racket whilst on holiday in Wales.  Fabrice quickly excelled in the sport and he was selected for a performance squad alongside non-disabled players at Bolton Arena.  He joined the Learning Disability Programme in 2012. Fabrice’s ultimate tennis ambition is to inspire others and to be the best he can be. His greatest achievements include a multitude of Gold and Silver medals at INAS World Championships and Global Games in both singles and doubles events.

Dominic Iannotti

Lives:  Prestwick, Scotland
Plays:  Right-handed

Dominic started playing tennis aged ten and he joined the Learning Disability Tennis Programme in 2015.  He made his international debut at the 2015 INAS Global Games in Ecuador.  Dominic is also a full time coach running his own successful disability tennis programme, inspiring the next generation of players. Dominic’s ultimate tennis ambition is to become a role model and to encourage people to play tennis. His greatest achievements include being the champion at the 2018 National Learning Disability Tennis Championships and securing multiple Gold and silver medals at INAS World Championships and Global Games.

Thomas Mellor

Lives: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Plays: Right-handed

Thomas was first introduced to tennis at his school, aged six.  He began playing short tennis and quickly progressed to reach county level by the age of ten.  Since joining the Learning Disability Programme Thomas has gone on to represent Great Britain in numerous international INAS events, achieving Silver and Bronze medals at World and European championships. Thomas works as a tennis coach, inspiring others to learn he so passionately plays. 

Oliver Beadle

Lives: Home Town Upminster
Plays: Right-handed

Oliver started playing tennis at the age of seven when he joined a local tennis club with his older brother.  Oliver’s sporting hero is Andy Murray and his aim is to represent his country as one of the top 10 Learning Disability players in the world. Oliver first attended a learning disability training camp at Wrexham when he was 12.  His greatest’s achievements to date would be representing Team GB in the Special Olympic World Games in Los Angeles in summer 2015, winning gold medals in both the men’s singles and mixed doubles as well as being crowned Men’s National champion in 2016 and doubles champion in 2017.

Luke Turnbull

Lives: Home Town Milngavie, moved to North Berwick
Plays: Right-handed

Luke started playing tennis at the age of three when his Mum introduced him to the sport by sitting him in his baby chair at the side of the court. As soon as he could walk, he wanted to play. When he’s not playing tennis he enjoys playing football and plays for North Berwick Colts. Luke made his international debut at the 2018 INAS World and European championships where he secured a Bronze and Silver medal in the doubles events.

Anna McBride

Lives: Dunfermline, currently trains in Nottingham
Plays: Right-handed

Anna started playing tennis when she was 8 and progressed to a National level within 18 months. At 11 she became the Scottish number one ranked U12 girl and eventually climbed to number 13 in the UK. Anna has won and continues to win numerous regional level tournaments, whilst also competing internationally in Malta, Spain, Portugal and Belgium. Anna first became involved with disability tennis in 2017 and joined the learning disability program in 2018. Anna’s dream came true when she won Gold at the 2018 INAS World Championships in both singles and mixed doubles.

Michael Hartnett

Lives: Worthing, Sussex, trains in Suffolk 
Plays: Right handed 

Michael started playing tennis 5 years ago after taking part on a school trip to the local tennis club and instantly fell in love with the sport. He started competing in LTA events shortly after and at 14 began training in a performance squad at his local centre. After being introduced to learning disability tennis he started competing in regional events and joined the Learning Disability programme in 2018. Michael’s greatest achievements to date include winning the Junior Outstanding Achievement award at the LTA Sussex County Tennis Awards 2018, winning two gold medals at the Sheffield Special Olympics National Summer Games 2017and reaching the 3rd round of the Road to Wimbledon tournament in 2016. Michael’s next goal is to represent Great Britain and go on to achieve a ranking of top 10 in the INAS world rankings, being a positive role model for up and coming junior players. 

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Our visually impaired tennis team have had great success over the past few years. The first World Championships for VI tennis were hosted by Spain in 2017 and they have grown ever since.

2018: Blind world Tennis championships Dublin 

The GB team consisting of Nikhill Nair, James Currie, Paul Ryb, Chris Baily, Rosine Pybus, Rachel Morgan, Amanda Large and Jan Reynolds achieved 6 gold medals and 1 silver medal.

2019: Blind World Tennis Championships Benidorm, Spain

The team hope to have the same success as last year. This year’s team are: Rachel Morgan, James Currie, Paul Ryb, Amanda Large, Rosine Pybus, Sarah Fortescue, Chris Blake and Neil Fradgley.