VI Tennis

The Globe’s Visually Impaired (VI) tennis programme has become an established and valued part of our club and a reflection of our commitment to serve our rich and diverse community.

For those unfamiliar with VI tennis, the game adheres to normal rules and scoring, but is played on a shortened court using an oversized ball containing a rattle that enables players to locate it using sound instead of vision.

Suited to all players in the B2 – B5 categories as well as experienced B1 players, VI Tennis is a great way to improve physical and mental health and wellbeing and you don’t need to be a talented sports person to experience the benefits. If you’d like to try it out, join us every other Friday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 to discover the joy of playing VI tennis outdoors on quiet and sheltered courts.

If you need inspiration you can always talk to our leading VI player, Naqi Rizvi, who has just become World Number 1 at the 2023 International Blind Tennis Association World Championships in Krakow, Poland, after victories at the International Blind Sports Association World Games in Birmingham; and national competitions at Wimbledon earlier in the year.

Naqi receives coaching at the Globe and practices most weeks with a group of volunteer members and says:

“I became a member of the Globe in 2018 when I was still a fairly amateur tennis player. The past five years at this club have been amazing and I have met and played with some brilliant members. I have seen the club go from strength to strength in regards to the visually impaired program, and I am incredibly grateful to all the volunteers who give up their time and energy to help me become a better tennis player. I hugely cherish my time on court and hope that I can find more members to play with and make some wonderful memories along the way.”

If you would like to volunteer to play with Naqi please email us at support@globetennisclub.com. The time commitment involved is one hour on Sunday afternoons roughly once every two months.