How Australia's first international blindfolded tennis star, Tess Whelan, is changing the game

For the non-vision impaired, losing 5 per cent of your sight mightn't seem like a whole lot.

But when that 5 per cent is your 100 per cent, it really changes things.

Just ask Tess Whelan. In 2020, her retina was unexpectedly damaged, leaving her with no "usable vision."

"I went from being able to read print if it was really close to not being able to (read) at all," Whelan said.

"I went from being able to pass as not blind and not have people identify me in that way to needing a cane to get around."

Understandably, it was quite an adjustment.

"No matter how much vision you have, if you lose a little bit of that, I think it just means you have to think more and concentrate more," Whelan said.

A new sporting identity

She also faced quite an upheaval in her sporting life. An avid state-level goalball player, her retina damage meant the sport became a risk to play.

"Goalball is quite a brutal sport. You are definitely going to get hit in the face at some point," she said.

"And once the back of your eye gets damaged, it's recommended that you try to limit that type of activity.

So, in need of a new sporting outlet, she found blind cricket, and then, blind tennis.

She only first stepped onto the blind tennis court earlier this year, but once she did, Whelan knew there was no turning back.

"I really fell in love with it," she said.

She says it provided her with a sense of independence she hadn't found in other blind sports.

"I love the freedom to be able to make the decisions, to know where I am on the court. That autonomy is really empowering and really exciting."

Now, barely 10 months later, Whelan is an international tennis player, having just competed as Australia's first B1 representative at the International Blind Tennis Association World Championships in Italy.

Australia's first international B1 player

In blind tennis, there are four main classes in which athletes compete.

All classes use an audible ball which is slightly larger and softer than a standard tennis ball.

• B4 players have the most vision and play a game very similar to mainstream tennis.
• B3 players are legally blind and are allowed up to two bounces.
• B2 players have less vision than B3 players and are allowed up to three bounces.
• B1 players have what Tess Whelan brands "no usable vision" and play with more modifications than the other classes. All players wear blindfolds and are allowed three bounces. The net is slightly lower and the court substantially smaller, with tactile lines running along the boundaries of the court.

Although variants of the sport had been played for years prior, blind tennis wasn't officially codified until the 1980s. That was in Japan, and it would be another 20 years until it made its way to Australia.

Since then, Australia has grown into a blind tennis powerhouse — but has always struggled to attract B1 players.

Whelan says that a major reason for this is the different coaching techniques required for completely blind athletes as opposed to players with limited vision.

"Really simple things, like being able to see the lines on the court or how far you are from the net — all those things just make it easier to coach an athlete and explain things to that athlete," Whelan said.

She also thinks that potential players might not even consider coming to play something that is traditionally viewed as a "very visual sport."

"But I think if you've never actually been able to visually see a game of tennis, being able to imagine it in your head would be really difficult."

Building a B1 court

There are currently no dedicated B1 courts in Australia, which means Whelan and her coach spend the first half hour of every training session making amendments to the playing area.

"We need to tape the court each time we use it and then pull up the tape at the end," Whelan said.

"And it isn't just tape. You need to put down clothesline kind of material and then tape over the top. It's a two-person job."

To complicate things further, Whelan can't just tape over the existing lines, as B1 dimensions are different to those of a standard court.

Whelan says that the establishment of B1-specific courts in Australia is vital for the growth of the sport.

"Can you imagine being a totally blind player rocking up to a tennis club and saying 'hey, I really want to try this sport'," Whelan said.

"First you've got to go buy the balls, then you've got to change the height of the net, then you've got to go buy tape and string…it's just another barrier."

But she hopes that her involvement in the World Championships will help to raise the profile of B1 tennis across Australia as well as pave the way for more women to be involved in the sport.

"This is a really critical time to be making sure that we're including B1 players and giving them the support that they need," Whelan said.

"The same with women — giving female players the environments that make them feel comfortable."