Tokyo, October 26, 2021 -NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) today announced its ongoing sponsorship of the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, the International Tennis Federation's (ITF) year-end championship, where the world's top ranked wheelchair tennis players compete from October 31 to November 7, 2021 at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Campus at Lake Nona, Orlando, Florida, USA.

NEC has been the title sponsor of the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters since its inception in 1994, and celebrates 30 years of sponsoring the ITF wheelchair tennis activities.

The prestigious tournament sees elite players compete in three divisions (men, women and quads) over eight days, and marks the end of the wheelchair tennis season with finals on Sunday, November 7.

NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters 2021
The top eight men, eight women and eight quad players have qualified to play at the 2021 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters based on the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Rankings as of September 13, 2021.

A number of players who have benefitted from the ITFs development programme have gone on to compete in the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters.

David Haggerty, ITF President, said, "As the ITF's year-end wheelchair tennis championship, the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters is arguably the most competitive tournament of the year as the world's best players face their biggest rivals in round-robin competition to earn the right to go on and play for the titles. After having to cancel the event in 2020, we are very much looking forward to returning to the USTA National Campus once again for another memorable week of wheelchair tennis."

Takayuki Morita President and CEO of NEC Corporation said, "As title sponsor of the NEC Masters since 1994, we look forward to this exciting tournament once again, which in addition to thrilling championship tennis, also provides an excellent opportunity for the world to discover and engage in an inclusive sport."

Wheelchair tennis traces its beginnings to California, USA, in 1976 and has since spread across the globe. In 1992, the ITF created a tour for players, the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour, which consisted of 11 international tournaments. Wheelchair Tennis has also been a full medal sport at the Paralympic Games since 1992. It is still today one of the fastest growing wheelchair sports in the world, both in size and popularity, featuring currently over 160 events worldwide each year. In 1994, the ITF launched the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters as the supreme year-end challenge of the Tour.

Today, NEC is the title sponsor of the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters and an Official Partner of the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour. NEC celebrates 30 years of partnership with the ITF this year. To commemorate this occasion, NEC will donate wheelchair tennis equipment through the ITF to encourage more athletes to engage in this popular and inclusive sport.

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NEC Corporation published this content on 26 October 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 26 October 2021 04:15:02 UTC.