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Andy Lapthorne

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Andy Lapthorne
Lapthorne in 2015
Full nameAndrew David Lapthorne
Country (sports) United Kingdom
Born (1990-10-11) 11 October 1990 (age 34)
Middlesex, England
Turned pro2005
Singles
Career record285–160[1]
Career titles58
Highest rankingNo. 1 (27 January 2020)[1]
Current rankingNo. 5 (6 September 2021)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (2020)
French OpenF (2020)
WimbledonF (2019)
US OpenW (2014, 2019)
Other tournaments
Paralympic GamesF (2016)
Doubles
Career record177–96[1]
Highest rankingNo. 1 (31 January 2011)[1]
Current rankingNo. 3 (6 September 2021)[1]
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2022)
French OpenW (2021)
WimbledonW (2019, 2021)
US OpenW (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Other doubles tournaments
Paralympic GamesF (2012)
Medal record
Men's wheelchair tennis
Representing  Great Britain
Paralympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Quad doubles
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Quad singles
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Quad doubles
Last updated on: 10 June 2021.

Andrew David Lapthorne[2] (born 11 October 1990) is a British wheelchair tennis player. He took up wheelchair tennis in 2005, and entered the quad division in 2008. He is active in both singles and doubles tournaments, and has 13 multiple grand slam titles in singles and doubles. He competed at his first Summer Paralympics at London 2012 in the quad singles and in the quad doubles, in which he won a silver medal and is now a three-time Paralympic medallist and British no.1 Quad tennis player, who started playing wheelchair tennis at the age of ten.

Early life

Lapthorne has cerebral palsy, and uses a wheelchair.[3] He can walk for limited periods, but not very far and the condition has left him unable to straighten his arms fully. He joined a disabled football team at the age of eight, and also tried wheelchair basketball.[4]

Tennis career

Lapthorne took up the sport full-time in 2005 after playing at a sports camp for people in wheelchairs. He was spotted by coaches from the Tennis Federation and became a professional player.[3][5] In 2008, he registered in the quad division and in his first quad tournament he reached the semi-final of the 2008 Nottingham Indoor event. In 2009 he reached the finals of his first tournaments including defeating Johan Andersson, who was the silver medallist at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, in the quarter finals of the Florida Open.[3]

Lapthorne began teaming up with Peter Norfolk, to compete in the quad doubles. They appeared at the Florida Open in 2009 for the first time, and defeated the reigning Olympic champions in the first round before going on to win the tournament. Lapthorne won his first singles title during the same year, at the Wroclaw Cup, and also won the singles title at Prague Cup Czech Indoor resulting in completing his first full season as a quad player ranked ninth in the world.[3]

Lapthorne at the US Open Wheelchairs in 2013

In 2010, Lapthorne won both the Melbourne Open singles titles and doubles alongside Norfolk. He reached the final of the Sydney Open and regularly appeared in the quarter finals of the year's Super Series tournaments. His world ranking in 2010 improved to number six, and he won the end of season Camozzi Doubles Masters, teaming with Norfolk once more.[3] In 2011, he appeared at a Grand Slam for the first time, winning the doubles tournament with Norfolk which increased their ranking to number one in the world.[3] It was the first occasion that an all British pair had won a quad doubles grand slam, as the duo defeated David Wagner and Nick Taylor by 6–3, 6–3, to win the title. It marked the fourth victory that Lapthorne and Norfolk had made during the previous two seasons over Wagner and Taylor, who are the reigning Paralympics champions.[6] They retained the title a year later.[7]

Lapthorne was selected for the Great Britain squad for the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London in both the quad singles and quad doubles tennis events.[8] Channel 4 featured Norfolk in a special aired on 7 August 2012, prior to the London Paralympics. Lapthorne was also featured in the special resulting in The Daily Telegraph describing him as "the young pretender, talented, aggressive and gobby in the extreme".[9] At the time of the Paralympics, he was ranked fourth in the world in the singles, and number one in the doubles with Norfolk.[8] In the singles, he was drawn against Anders Hard in the first round, while he and Norfolk received a bye to the semi-finals of the doubles tournament.[10] He was knocked out of the singles competition in the first round by Hard, with a score of 7–5, 3–6, 3–6.[11] However, in the doubles tournament he reached the final against Taylor and Wagner. Before the match he received good luck messages from the West Ham football team, and fellow tennis player Andy Murray. The British pair lost the match, 2–6, 7–5, 2–6, but Lapthorne and Norfolk won a silver medal each in the process.[12]

In 2014 Lapthorne went on to win the US open singles title. In January 2019, Lapthorne and partner David Wagner were beaten in the quad wheelchair doubles final in the Australian Open.[13]

Personal life

Lapthorne is an ambassador of Brentford F.C.[5] He is a fan of West Ham United F.C.[14] He lives in Eastcote, Greater London.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Andy Lapthorne". International Tennis Federation website. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  2. ^ GRO reference: November 1990, Vol. 12, Page 2430
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Andrew Lapthorne". The Tennis Foundation. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  4. ^ Williams, Sally (3 July 2012). "Wheelchair tennis star Andy Lapthorne". ITV News. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Andy Lapthorne". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  6. ^ "Norfolk and Lapthorne win Australian Open doubles title". BBC Sport. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Andy Lapthorne". Paralympics.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  8. ^ a b "London 2012 Paralympic Tennis Preview". Lawn Tennis Association. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  9. ^ O'Donovan, Gerard (8 August 2012). "Best of British: The Quadfather, Channel 4, review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  10. ^ Gold, David (31 August 2012). "Draw made for London 2012 wheelchair tennis". Inside World Parasport. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  11. ^ "Match Statistics" (PDF). London 2012. 2 September 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  12. ^ Pearce, Nick (5 September 2012). "Paralympics 2012: Peter Norfolk and Andy Lapthorne claim wheelchair tennis silver after final defeat against USA". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  13. ^ "Australian Open 2019: Andy Lapthorne beaten in quad wheelchair doubles final". 24 January 2019. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Hammer Lapthorne lifts US Open title". West Ham United F.C. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
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