Archie Graham was one of four Australians who experienced a unique opportunity last week, competing at the inaugural players with intellectual impairment (PWII) tournament at the Nottingham Open.
Already a dual ATP/WTA event, the introduction of a PWII event created history in Nottingham while strengthening PWII tennis' presence at professional tournaments, where it is already integrated at tournaments such as the Australian Open.
Outside of the AO, this is not the first time Graham has competed at a tour-level event, after cometing on the famous grass courts of Queen’s Club in London two years ago. However, the Nottingham event was officially sanctioned by Virtus, allowing players to compete for ranking points.
While the Nottingham event was played on hard courts, as opposed to the grasscourts used for the ATP Challenger and WTA 250 tournaments, they were all played at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.
This allowed Graham, along with compatriots Kelly Wren, Jack Kavenagh and Chloe Dunn, to rub shoulders with some players on tour, making it a tournament they will never forget.
“I did come across some players practicing like Zhang Zhizhen and Karolina Pliskova and I got to see some of the pros in the player lounge area,” Graham said.
“I felt like I was wanted there, everyone was so welcoming and nice to me there which made it a lot easier for me to be myself, which is so great for my confidence.
“The experience was amazing, lovely centre, lovely people and phenomenal atmosphere. The experience was one of the best in my book to this day.”
It was an experience to remember on court as well, with the Queenslander winning the men’s singles trophy and finishing runners-up in the men’s doubles with Kavenagh.
Graham, the men’s singles top seed, dropped just one set in his triumphant campaign, capped off with victory in the final against Brit Fabrice Higgins, with whom Graham won the Australian Open 2025 men’s doubles title.
In Nottingham he claimed a 6-2 3-6 6-4 victory to add to his ever-growing list of achievements in PWII tennis.
He also reflected on his previous experience at Queen's, one that was surreal for the kid from country Queensland.
“The tournament at Queen’s that I played two years ago was on grass and I instantly fell in love with the surface,” he told tennis.com.au. “It was very different to the other surfaces and it’s very unique and prestigious to play on, I loved it.”
Meanwhile, Australian success in Nottingham was further boosted when Kelly Wren won the women’s doubles event. Alongside accomplished British PWII player Anna McBride, the pair conceded just eight games across their three matches to emerge victorious.
Following the Nottingham event, attention now turns to the Virtus World Tennis Championships from 5-11 July in Poland.