Nominations are currently invited for two of the ITF's annual Wheelchair Tennis Awards, the UNIQLO Spirit Award and the Junior of the Year Award.

Nominations for both awards must be received by the ITF by Friday 16th November 2024.

UNIQLO Spirit Award

Launched in 2017, the UNIQLO Spirit Award is to be presented by UNIQLO to an individual/organisation who embodies the principles and core values of UNIQLO.

A judging panel (comprised of ITF Wheelchair Tennis Committee members and the Head of Wheelchair Tennis), will create a shortlist and UNIQLO will be invited to choose a winner and runner-up. Judging criteria include the following:

• An individual/organisation who embrace challenge in pursuit of the promotion of wheelchair tennis.
• An individual/organisation who is admired for their integrity, character, optimism, respect and humility.
• The individual/organisation’s involvement can be from the grassroots to elite levels of the game.

Any nomination must include details of the following:        

• The impact or results of the work undertaken by the individual/organisation;
• The range of activities which the individual/organisation is involved with;
• Demonstrate the extent of the commitment shown by the individual/organisation.

The following individuals/organisations have been nominated in previous years and will remain on the nomination list for a maximum of three years.

NOMINEE	YEAR OF NOMINATION
USTA (USA)	2023
Nalani Buob (SUI)	2023
Zhenxu Ji (CHN)	2023
Giovanni Rangel and Jose Giron (GUA)	2022
Luciano Varela (URU)	2021
Niels Vink (NED)	2021

The winner of the 2023 UNIQLO Spirit Award was Betty Birmingham (CAN) and the runner-up was Kyushu Wheelchair Tennis Association (JPN).

Previous winners of the UNIQLO Spirit Award can be found here.

2024 UNIQLO Spirit Award Nomination Form (Word Format)

Junior Boy and Junior Girl of the Year Award

Inaugurated in January 2020, the Junior of the Year Award recognises young wheelchair tennis players who both impress with their results on court and embody the principles of leadership and sportsmanship off-court.

The winner of the Award will be decided by the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Committee and the nominations will be judged on the following criteria:

• The Juniors will have shown commitment to the sport of wheelchair tennis;
• The Juniors have demonstrated a significant contribution to the sport;
• The Juniors are a respected ambassador for the sport;
• The Juniors have made a significant contribution to national and/or international wheelchair tennis.

The recipients of the 2023 Junior Boy and Junior Girl of the Year Award were Fernando Felici (ITA) and Maylee Phelps (USA), respectively.

Previous winners of the Junior of the Year award can be found here.

2024 ITF Junior of the Year Award Nomination Form (Word Format)

This year the ITF are again inviting key stakeholders – including Players, Coaches and Tournament Directors – to submit their nomination to the ITF. Nominations received by non-NA contacts will be sent by the ITF to the NAs for sign-off.

For any questions about either the UNIQLO Spirit Award or the Junior of the Year Award or regarding potential nominees, please do not hesitate to contact the ITF office.

If you wish to make nominations, please download and complete the nomination form(s) provided and return to wheelchair@itftennis.com by Friday 16th November 2024.