History of the Open de l’Orléanais
The first Open de l’Orléanais was held in 2001 on the courts of the FJC in Saran. It was hosted after the 17th French Disabled-Tennis Championship that took place in 2000. The tournament was held each year in September on the outdoor courts of the Forest Complex until 2004.
To better meet the players’ expectations, the tournament was then moved to the indoor courts.The dates were changed and since 2005 the tournament has been scheduled for the end of October, making the Open de
l’Orléanais the last tournament of the qualifying season for the French Championships.
This place in the calendar is a real boon as it ensures an exceptional level of play.
In 2005, the city of Orléans hosted The Open d’Orléans, the well-known Tennis Tournament of the Orléans, which led to a new change in the dates for the reasons of the availability of the volunteers, who are indispensable for both tournaments.
In 2011, the tournament name changed to “l’Open Tennis Handisport du Loiret” in order to no longer be confused with the l’Open d’Orléans tournoi challenger.
In 2018, the tournament changed the name again following the integration of tennis in wheechair to the FFT and became the Open Paratennis du Loiret, also becoming an international sport event.
In 2022, the finals of the tournament are filmed and broadcast live on a cable TV channel.
L’Open de l’Orléanais is a national level tournament, welcoming 32 men and 16 women with the spirit of conviviality lasting all 4 days of the tournament
The volunteers :
The tournament is lucky to be able to count on its volunteers every year. They are the special feature of this tournament since they all come from different backgrounds. Indeed, the Open de l’Orléanais is not organized by a tennis club, but by the sports enthusiasts who want to promote wheelchair tennis.
Tables:
Until 2006, there was a women’s table. Unfortunately, the insufficient number of participants made us cancel this category.
So, we decided to create the category “quads” in 2007; for more information on quads, go to the Discover disability tennis page on the home page.
The Open de l’Orléanais is a national level tournament, and it is a wish of the organizing team to remain at this level and not to move to the
international level, for the fear of losing the spirit of conviviality.
Tournament values:
The aim of the Open de l’Orléanais is to raise awareness of a disability tennis. For this purpose, the facilities are accessible to all, and the public can attend the meetings free of charge, at the weekend.