Editorial Team

The award-winning technology is allowing people who are blind or have low vision to follow tennis games through sound in real time. Congratulations to Tennis Australia, AKQA, and Monash University for winning the 2021 Innovation award by the Australian Finance Review (AFR) and the Silver Lion award at the 2021 Cannes Lions Awards. Action Audio is an online audio stream designed to make the Australian Open and sports broadcasts accessible for 285 million people globally living with a visual impairment. By applying sound design principles to ball data, blind and low vision audiences can follow the ball speed and trajectory, its proximity to the line and a player’s shot type in 3D audio. A big thank you to our visually impaired tennis players in Melbourne, Australia for contributing to the co-design of this new product. Action Audio will be showcased again at the 2022 Australian Open and other events. Learn More:  Action Audio

The IBTA family has lost a close friend and a legend of blind tennis. It is with great sadness that we learned about the passing of Mr Hirofumi Ono after his battle with cancer. Hirofumi was the current world champion and Japan national champion in the B1 classification category. As a player, Hirofumi represented Japan on several occasions including in China, USA, Spain, Mexico and Ireland. He became chairman of the Japan Blind Tennis Federation (JBTF) in April 2020. Our deepest sympathies to Hirofumi’s family and friends. Hirofumi passed away on the 1st September and his funeral was held on the 4th September at ‘Memoir Miwa’ in Gifu prefecture. Hirofumi is survived by his mother and younger sister. The IBTA family has lost a close friend and a legend of blind tennis. Hirofumi Ono has inspired a lot of people, both visually impaired and sighted players. He will be sorely missed by everyone in the international blind tennis community.

New Ball Trial One of the challenges we are facing in blind and low vision tennis is to find a ball that meets the changing needs of all our players. One of the challenges we are facing in blind and low vision tennis is to find a ball that meets the changing needs of all our players. The ball we have at present was the result of over 20 years of work. It has stood the test of time for the past 10 years. However, now we need to take stock and consider alternatives. Whatever is designed will need to strike the right balance on sound, speed, bounce, durability and cost. We are involving and collaborating with players and coaches to help with the product design of the new balls.   These prototype balls are the same size as the current Shoei ball and their weight is around 8-10% heavier. They come in 2 colours, fluorescent orange and yellow. Shoei have said the new balls have a higher bounce, faster speed and their durability has been improved. The IBTA Technical Committee is not considering these trials in isolation. There are a number of different balls being used across the world by B1-B4s. Early signs are that there is plenty of engagement on this so please keep all the comments coming in.   If you are a player or coach that has been testing new balls, feel free to reach out to technical@internationalblindtennis.org.  IBTA Ball Trial B3 B4 Coaches Survey Click on the link to download full accessible document of the IBTA Ball Trial B3 B4 Coaches Survey DOCUMENT LINK IBTA Ball Trial B3 B4 Player Survey Click on the link to… Read More »New IBTA prototype ball trial

Tennis Australia, Monash University and AKQA have launched Action Audio (action-audio.com), an online audio stream designed to make the Australian Open broadcasts accessible for almost 600,000 Australians and 285 million people living with blindness or a vision impairment. Action Audio turns spatial data from live sports into sound, allowing blind and low vision audiences to follow the action in real time. Action Audio will launch during the Australian Open 2021 men’s and women’s finals. Women’s Singles Final – 20 Feb 2021, 7:30PM AEDTMen’s Singles Final – 21 Feb 2021, 7:30PM AEDT Visit https://ausopen.com/ao-radio and look for the heading “Action Audio” this weekend. Thanks to Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria (BSRV) and the many sports fans who contributed to the co-design of Action Audio.

Maurice Gleeson OAM has been appointed President of the International Blind Tennis Association (IBTA). This prestigious role is responsible for leading a consortium of more than 17 countries, with the aim of developing and increasing participation in blind tennis worldwide. Maurice’s two-year appointment as President of IBTA recognises his commitment and dedication to ensuring the game of blind tennis continues to grow on the worldwide stage. Maurice is naturally thrilled. He said: “I am very excited that, after years of advocating for blind tennis programs to become mainstream in Australia, we are now leading the sport at an international level. Blind tennis is continuing to gain momentum and awareness, not only in Australia but across the world – this can only be a good thing for blind sports generally.” “I see this as a clear opportunity to create stronger bilateral links between the 17+ member countries, while also working towards ensuring blind tennis becomes an official Paralympic sport in the future.  A large part of the role will involve encouraging the participating countries to share their knowledge, experience and skills and work together co-operatively to develop the sport”. Maurice, who has been President of Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria in Melbourne for almost 30 years, was instrumental in starting blind tennis in Australia more than 10 years ago, with VicHealth, Tennis Victoria, and Tennis Seniors Victoria’s support. The program has grown in Australia during that time and is now played in many states.

Mr Takei Miyoshi invented Blind Tennis in Japan in 1984. He was a pioneer in a new racket sport and a role model to the visually impaired. He was born in 1968 and lost his eyesight at the age of one and a half. When he was 16, as a high school student, he dreamed of playing tennis with the able-bodied and created tennis for the blind. Mr Takei worked tirelessly at developing a tennis ball specifically tailored for the blind. His devotion to the sport drew many supporters who joined him in his work. In 1990, the first ever tournament for the visually impaired was held in Japan. Over a 21-year span, Mr Takei was National Champion on 16 occasions. His long term dream and legacy was that blind tennis continues to grow and be played all over the world by as many people as possible. “We have to take responsibility both for success and failure,” Mr Takei said at a lecture on the sport in 2007. He stressed the importance of independence for the visually impaired in both sport and everyday life. Blind Tennis – also known as Sound Ball – is now played in Europe, North America, Latin America, and across Asia-Pacific. Miyoshi Takei lost his life in a tragic accident at a Tokyo train station on January 16th 2011. The Blind Tennis founder died at the age of 42, but the sport continues to build momentum as it targets inclusion at the Paralympics.