Scotland is ready to cheer on a Paralympic icon as the tennis star embarks on contests in singles and doubles at Roland Garros.
By Paul Morrison
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will mark the fifth time that Scotland’s Gordon Reid will represent ParalympicsGB at the Paralympics, having made his debut in Beijing 2008, at 16 years old. Now 32, the man from Alexandria is as hungry as ever to achieve success on the biggest stage once again.
Gordon will be competing in both the men’s singles and doubles tournaments in the wheelchair tennis events in Paris, where he is a strong contender to win medals being among the top seeds in each draw.
In singles, Gordon heads into the competition as the only active player to have previously won the individual Paralympic gold medal – a superb result achieved eight years ago at the Rio 2016 Games to add to a dream 2016 season that also saw him become world number one.
While having a tricky 2024 campaign so far in singles, the Scot has proved that he can bring his A-Game to the world’s biggest stage after securing bronze at the previous Paralympics in Tokyo 2020.
Gordon is also no stranger to competing on clay at major tournaments – having previously finished runner-up twice at Roland Garros.
Coming into Paris as the 5th seed in men’s singles, Gordon has a tough route ahead of him with the likes of Japan’s Tokito Oda (2), Argentina’s Gustavo Fernández (4) and The Netherland’s Tom Egberink (6) falling on the same side of the draw.
Earning a bye through to round two, Gordon’s singles tournament will begin by playing Sri Lanka’s Suresh Dharmasena, following their win today (31st) against Austria’s Josef Riegler.
As for doubles, the Paralympic title is the only honor that has defied Gordon and partner Alfie Hewitt during their time as teammates on the court. As the winning pair of 21 major titles since 2016, Gordon and Alfie look to seal their golden career slam with a triumph in Paris.
The duo have been in blistering form in the run-up to the Games, winning titles in eight of the ten tournaments they’ve entered in 2024, including the three majors. Both players have mastered the clay surface together with seven titles coming at the French Open, making it their strongest performance at a single major championship.
Having enjoyed an unbeaten run at Roland Garros that dates back to 2020, Gordon and Alfie should be filled with confidence on claiming the title in Paris and go one better than they achieved in Rio (2016) and Tokyo (2020).
In their side of the draw, the duo have the possibility of facing French wheelchair tennis legend, Stephane Houdet, who denied the pair doubles gold in the previous two Paralympic Games.
Being hailed as a strong contender for both singles and doubles titles as France’s home favourite, the British pair will be pushed to dig deep to accomplish their goal of winning gold despite entering the competition as top seeds. They begin their tournament by facing Chile’s Alexander Cataldo and Brayan Tapia.
The wheelchair tennis event at Paris 2024 kicks off on Friday 30th August, with Gordon’s campaigns starting on Sunday 1st September.
The Paris 2024 Paralympics runs from the 28th August – 8th September. You can follow all the action and find out how the 21 Scottish Para athletes get on by following Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, X and Instagram .
You can catch all the action on Channel 4. More information here.