Help Ivan bring back gold for GB!

Hello! My name is Aaron and I’d like to tell you about my brother’s amazing story.

My brother is called Ivan and he’s 15 years’ old. He was born with a rare connective tissue disorder which means that he’s partially-sighted. Two and half years ago, we took him to a “Have-a-Go” day organised by British Blind Sports, where we discovered visually-impaired tennis, played on an indoor orange-sized court with an adapted sound ball with a rattle in it. Since that day, he hasn’t stopped.

In two and a half years, he has progressed from a novice player to Britain’s No. 1 in the Mens’ B4 category and national champion (there are different sight categories from B1 to B4) and the youngest member ever selected at the age of 15 in the LTA’s international squad. Here is a short summary of his journey:


STATISTICS FOR 2019

Ranking: 1

Played: 20

Wins: 19

Losses: 1


MENS’ SINGLES

May 2018: My first experience of visually-impaired tennis at a “Have-A-Go Day” organised by British Blind Sport.

Sept. 2018: Winner of the VI Junior Tennis Festival, NTC, London.

Sept. 2018: B4/5 Men’s Singles Runner up at the National VI Tennis Championships, Loughborough.

March 2019: B4/5 Men’s Singles Winner at the Loughborough Regional VI Tournament.

April 2019: B4/5 Men’s Singles Winner at the Cambridge Regional VI Tournament

May 2019: B4/5 Men’s Singles Winner at the Newcastle Regional VI Tournament

June 2019: B4/5 Men’s Singles Winner at the Brighton Regional VI Tournament

Sept. 2019: B4/5 Men’s Singles Winner at the London Regional VI Tournament

Nov. 2019: B4/5 Men’s Singles Winner at the National VI Championships

Dec 2019: Selected as the youngest player ever in Great Britain’s Visually-Impaired Tennis Squad


MENS’ DOUBLES


Nov. 2019: B4/5 Men’s Doubles Winner at the National VI Championships 


To view his LTA profile, please visit: https://lta.tournamentsoftware.com/profile/overview.aspx?id=080BC749-66DB-4F13-B53B-BDC8BB82D2DF

Latest news about Ivan:

https://www.lta.org.uk/about-us/tennis-news/news-and-opinion/general-news/2019/december/national-visually-impaired-tennis-champions-crowned-in-wrexham/

https://www.tennissussex.com/blind-and-visually-impaired-regional-tournament-attracts-the-top-players-and-the-bbc/

https://www.mynewsmag.co.uk/magazine/mynorthwood/


This year, Ivan was selected to represent Great Britain as their youngest squad player but unfortunately the World Championships in Italy were cancelled due to Covid-19. However, this has not stopped him training for when the competition season re-starts. 

To date, Ivan has been unable to access any training sessions specifically organised for visually-impaired tennis as they logistically impossible for us to get to. As his elder brother, (not a tennis player) I have done my best to help him train and my mum takes him to as many tournaments as we can get to.

However, this situation is no longer sustainable at the level at which he is playing. Having won the National Championships, my brother’s ambition now is to become World Champion at the International Championships in Italy. For this, he will need access to professional coaching, equipment and a training facility. Moreover, visually-impaired tennis is the fastest growing blind sport in the country and competition is becoming fierce. In order to maintain his ranking as GB No.1, he desperately needs access to an indoor centre where he can continue to train with me and access regular professional coaching if he is to train on a par with his main competitors. For this to occur, I am seeking the support of organisations and individuals who are willing to help Ivan bring a gold medal back for Great Britain next year and in years to come.

· Any funds raised will go towards the following:

· Special sound balls used to play visually-impaired tennis

· Specialist coaching

· Access to indoor training facilities

If you feel you can help Ivan, any support, however big or small, would be much appreciated. Thanks :)