Wolstenholme, who has been heavily involved with wheelchair tennis over the years, was chosen as one of the Torchbearers for the Paralympic Torch Relay through the Lloyds TSB public nomination campaign.

Flames were sparked yesterday in Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England and will be united at Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games in 1948, on August 28.

The Torch will then embark on a 24-hour relay to Stratford, with Wolstenholme one of those selected to carry it for part of the route.

Wolstenholme has been a key figure in British Paralympic sport since being appointed director of the Lawn Tennis Association Trust in 1988.

She has since worked to increase opportunities in disability tennis, with more than 1,000 people taking part in the sport during her time as performance director of British wheelchair tennis.

"It is a huge privilege," she told insideworldparasport.

"It was really, really nice of the Tennis Foundation to nominate me because of all the work I have done over a number of years.

"I was thrilled.

"I'm also looking forward to [the Games] hugely, particularly the tennis of course, although I thoroughly enjoy watching all the others as well."

Wolstenholme became involved in wheelchair tennis after being asked to head up the charity now known as the Tennis Foundation.

"When we started work on that we decided we should start from tennis focused people," she explained.

"We contacted various disability groups – in particular the National Wheelchair Tennis Association of Great Britain.

"We asked how we could make the game more popular.

"It took off from there."


Under Wolstenholme the Wimbledon Championships incorporated a wheelchair tennis tournament.

Today all four major Grand Slam events on the tennis tour have a wheelchair tennis event, in what is one of the best organised Paralympic sports.

Key to this, she says, "has been that a lot of wheelchair tennis centres working in partnership with local authorities and the All England Tennis Club.

"That made a huge difference to the accessibility of wheelchair tennis...the grand slam events have come on later."

Wolstenholme adds that the increase in the number of coaches involved in the sport has also been a crucial factor pushing forward their work, as has the presence of what she describes as "a very strong" governing body.

Wolstenholme also oversaw the growth of the British Open, one of the biggest events on the wheelchair tennis calendar.

Although she is now in retirement she continues to work in disability sport.

Wolstenholme also established the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust, which provides grants to enable more disabled players to participate in the sport.

A former tennis player herself for Hertfordshire county, she is also a member of the British Paralympic Association (BPA) Board.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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