Tennis Australia’s wheelchair tennis team have been awarded the 2025 UNIQLO Spirit Award, being recognised as a driving force in transforming wheelchair tennis on a local and international stage.
The organisation has been considered a trailblazer in wheelchair tennis for more than 35 years, with several pioneering initiatives, including hosting the first integrated wheelchair Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open in 2002.
Australian wheelchair tennis players have collectively amassed 28 major titles across all disciplines and age categories and the cohort is currently led by Greg Crump and Francois Vogelsberger, both coaches who have been individually commended by the ITF for their services to wheelchair tennis.
Crump believes the award is a testament to the hard work the team has put into growing wheelchair tennis for nearly four decades.
“For the national federation to win an award like that in a small team, it’s pretty impressive,” he said. “From grassroot level right through to the Grand Slams, no other federation has probably done it.
“To get recognised, you must obviously follow through and believe [the values]. Quite often we have the core values or our catchphrases on doors and our walls, but actually believe them and follow through with them, the proof is in the pudding.
“Any new staff member that comes in and all the players are definitely reminded of the people that came before them and did a lot of hard work to get to this level as well.”
Crump has been involved in the process from the beginning, helping shape both the impressive legacy and direction of wheelchair tennis in Australia.
From volunteering at rehabilitation units in Melbourne’s northeastern suburbs, to coaching some of Australia’s highest-profile wheelchair players, the man colloquially known as ‘Crumpy’ has witnessed the sport’s transformation firsthand.
The progress made throughout this time has been fulfilling for the longtime coach.
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“It’s humbling, but when I first started, it really was bare bones,” Crump said. “It was a ‘beg, borrow, or steal’ type of thing to make a tennis tournament happen: the courts, the venues, the officials, the sponsorship, that was very minimal.
“Then now you see it at world-class events, it’s pretty rewarding. But also to see the whole pathway, there’s not many people that actually get to see a sport evolve and grow over that period of time in their career."
Despite success on the global stage, Crump believes the increase in participation is the most positive change that has occurred during his time.
With a sound junior development program that currently sees seven Australians inside the boys’ wheelchair top 50, the most of any country, Crump and his team are helping foster the next generation of wheelchair tennis stars.
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“I think the growth of the sport, that’s probably the biggest [difference in Australian wheelchair tennis today],” he said. “Everyone loves to get the trophies and the medals, but the amount of people that have actually taken up wheelchair tennis and played it at a recreational level, that’s still the gold medal event right there.
“You’ve made a change to someone’s life. So more and more people have played the game and like in the able-bodied space, not everyone’s going to be a champion, but we love the game.”