Wheelchair tennis in media: focus on physical disabilities rather than sporting achievements

Press release
Article tags:
  • Sponsorship
  • Social impact

Despite the success of Dutch wheelchair tennis players, which includes winning six medals at the last Paralympic Games, the focus in the Dutch media tends to be on the physical disabilities of the players rather than their sporting achievements. These are the findings of a study commissioned by ABN AMRO and carried out by LexisNexis, aimed at promoting equal representation and helping to create equal opportunities. In one in seven articles about wheelchair tennis, the reporting focuses on the player’s physical disability. Almost thirty percent of articles explicitly cite the player’s medical history, including explaining why the player is in a wheelchair.

Part of the study, which was carried out in the run-up to the wheelchair tournament at the ABN AMRO Open, looked into how wheelchair tennis players are portrayed in the media. A striking observation is that in the Netherlands, wheelchair tennis players are often seen in terms of their disability rather than as elite athletes performing at the highest level. One in seven articles emphasises their physical disability, and one in six mentions the disability more than once. ‘Disability’ and ‘disabled’ are the most common terms used to refer to these tennis players.

Ruben Spaargaren, two-time Paralympic Games participant, European Champion and a competitor in the seventeenth edition of the ABN AMRO Open wheelchair tennis tournament, recognises this phenomenon: “I really appreciate the interest, as all the attention is good for the sport. But almost without fail, I’m asked a question about my disability. I hope that in future, there will be more emphasis on my achievements and those of my fellow players, like there is for elite athletes without a disability.”

Strong focus on physical disability in the Netherlands

As well as highlighting the way wheelchair tennis players are portrayed in the Dutch media, the study also reveals that media coverage for wheelchair tennis in the Netherlands is very limited overall. In the past five years, just three percent of all Dutch publications about tennis have featured wheelchair tennis. As a comparison: in the UK, where wheelchair tennis players have won fewer medals, the relative media coverage more or less the same. Four percent of tennis-related publications were about wheelchair tennis. In addition, the British media focus significantly less on the physical challenges of wheelchair tennis players than is the case in the Netherlands. The players’ physical disability was mentioned in fourteen percent of articles, whereas this percentage in the Netherlands is closer to thirty.

Beno Schraepen, coordinator of the research and expertise centre People and Society at AP University of Applied Sciences and author of the book ‘Excluses, on how exclusion affects people', shares three tips on communicating inclusively about people with a disability.

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Focus on performance: in the context of sport, wheelchair tennis players are athletes first and foremost. Reflect this by emphasising their sporting achievements and skills. The disability itself does not need to play a prominent role in the reporting. The sport is wheelchair tennis, so the reason why the athlete is in a wheelchair is not relevant. In the same way, reporting on athletes without a disability doesn’t constantly mention why they look the way they do.

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Terminology: terms such as ‘invalid’ and ‘handicapped’ are outdated and felt to be hurtful. These days, we talk about ‘people with a disability’. Better yet, try not to mention the disability at all and refer to them based on the identity that is relevant in the context of the sport. Just say ‘wheelchair tennis player’ or ‘wheelchair basketball player, for instance.

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Equality: wheelchair tennis players are elite athletes with ambition and drive. Actively stress their professionalism and sporting determination and skills in the same way as for every other type of sport. This way, these sports and achievements will receive the attention they deserve, and will no longer be regarded as niche or exceptional.

Elite sport is elite sport

According to ABN AMRO, the findings show that it’s time for society to shift its attention to the sporting achievements of wheelchair tennis players rather than focusing on their physical disability.

Esther Vergeer, director of the ABN AMRO Open Wheelchair Tennis tournament, explains: “The wheelchair tennis players at our tournament are elite athletes with the same ambitions as tennis players in the ATP tournament without a disability. Equal ambition deserves an equal platform. The first steps have been taken through live broadcasting by NOS, good highlights on Ziggo and interest from international broadcasters in the wheelchair tennis tournament last year. The next step is to shift the focus of the reporting to the sporting performance and skills of the Dutch wheelchair tennis players.”

The ABN AMRO Open will be held in Rotterdam Ahoy from 1 to 9 February, with the wheelchair tennis tournament taking place from 5 to 9 February. As the main sponsor, the bank has made the ABN AMRO Open one of the few tournaments in the world where wheelchair tennis is fully integrated into the programme: alongside the ATP tournament for men, ITF wheelchair tennis tournaments for both men and women are organised in Rotterdam Ahoy.

About the study

The aim of the study was to analyse media reporting on wheelchair tennis over the past 5 years. The report was compiled based on an analysis of content licensed by LexisNexis (in print and online), and publicly available online articles, collected using the Nexis Newsdesk® media monitoring platform. The analysis covers the period from 1 January 2020 to 20 January 2025.

The analysis focused on Dutch and British news sources. It was carried out on the basis of a predetermined list of subjects. The data was collected by means of setting up various feeds per chapter, based on Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) and predetermined search terms. The search terms are given in the research report.

In order to zoom in on reports relating to the best Dutch wheelchair tennis players and physical disability, a qualitative analysis of 104 articles was carried out, based on the following criteria:

  • A predetermined list of the top 25 Dutch wheelchair tennis players

  • A targeted list of Dutch national news sources

About ABN AMRO

ABN AMRO is dedicated to accelerating equal opportunities, as part of its brand promise: ‘For every new beginning’. As one of the Netherlands’ leading banks, ABN AMRO’s sponsorship policy focuses on supporting three target groups: athletes with a disability, women, and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. ABN AMRO works closely with partners within the Sports, Arts & Culture and Society sectors to achieve its ambitions.