JORDANNE WHILEY
GOING FOR GOLD: JORDANNE WHILEY’S PARALYMPIC DREAM Jordanne Whiley MBE wasn’t sure if she would compete at a Paralympic Games again after giving birth to her son in 2018. After returning in incredible form, the wheelchair tennis star only has tunnel vision for gold in Tokyo. Wheelchair tennis player Jordanne Whiley MBE is credited with becoming Britain’s youngest ever national women’s singles champion in the sport aged only 14.
Wiley has osteogenesis imperfecta as does her father, Keith, who was a multi-sport Paralympian competing in athletics and shooting events, winning a bronze medal in Men’s 100m L3 1984 in the New York Games. It was her father who provided the encouragement to take up tennis in the first place too. “My dad got me into tennis when I was three years old," Whiley shared. "He was competing in Israel, and I was bored as I had broken my leg so couldn’t go in the swimming pool etc. Someone gave me a racket and ball and
One look through Whiley’s list of achievements and you would imagine her trophy cabinet, bulging for so many years, is now threatening to burst its hinges. Ten Grand Slam titles, including four at Wimbledon (the fourth of
“I always wanted to play Tokyo. It will be my last Games. “My goal is to improve on a bronze in doubles – I’m really hoping to be in a gold medal match for that. But really the sole reason I came back to competition after having my
“My goal is to improve on a bronze in doubles – I’m really hoping to be in a gold medal match for that. But really the sole reason I came back to competition after having my son was to get a gold medal in singles.” I started hitting against a well and I think I had some natural talent. “When I came home, I decided to continue practising tennis – I used to go and practice every Monday night after school, then I ended up getting a coach and it has just gone from there...”
which she won while 11 weeks pregnant), and two Paralympic bronze medals in doubles. However, one accolade has eluded Whiley for so long and the Tokyo Paralympics are her final chance to get her hands on the singles medal, an opportunity which has been delayed due to the pandemic.
son was to get a gold medal in singles. Any singles medal would be a huge achievement and so my focus is to get on the singles podium. “Covid has impacted every athlete (and person) on the planet. From my perspective, 2020 was a bit of a rollercoaster as I had quite
a lot on. I tried not to think about it too much and just let things happen as it was totally out of my control. I took three or four months out completely as I couldn’t train, due to England being in full lockdown, so I spent time with my family and then slowly got back into training when I could. I have tried to stay flexible and adaptable throughout the pandemic and focus on the things I can control. After a year’s delay, more than 4,000 athletes are set to take part in the Tokyo Paralympic Games, which begin on 24 August. These Games will be the most important Paralympics in history, with the coronavirus pandemic highlighting a series of inequalities in society for disabled people, with a number of young athletes hoping to make their mark on the big stage, which Jordanne says is great to see: “There is a lot of young talent coming through all sports which is great to see as it’s the young talent that keeps the Paralympics going. “I can only speak on behalf of tennis, but we have some amazing young talent coming through the ranks on our junior pathway. I’d love to see more girls playing tennis and after Gordon [Reid], Alfie [Hewett] and I have all left the sport, I’d love to see the juniors come through and take our place.” ◆ OTFF ISSUE 16 ★ JULY 2021 | 31