Australia’s top tennis players with an intellectual impairment (PWII) travel to France this week for the Virtus World Tennis Championships.

The event, which provides an opportunity for the world’s PWII best players to compete at the highest level, is held in Annecy from 7-15 September.

Queensland’s Archie Graham leads the 12-person Australian team.

The 31-year-old won four medals (one gold and three silver) last year at the Virtus Global Games and also claimed the men’s singles and doubles titles at the Australian Open 2024 PWII Championships.

“Winning a gold medal means so much,” said Graham, the world No.1 in the II-1 category.

“There’s nothing bigger than representing Australia, your country, that’s a massive achievement for me. My goal is to win four medals across all the four events I’ll be competing in.”

Graham will be joined by defending champions Timothy Gould (II-2) and Hunter Thompson (II-3), who are both ranked world No.1s in their respective categories.

Classifications in the PWII pathway: II-1 (Intellectual Disability), II-2 (Down syndrome), II-3 (Autism).

After completing a training camp on the Gold Coast last week, Australian head coach Alison Scott is confident the team is going to be extremely competitive on the international stage.

“This year we’ve got two new players who’ve come into the mix, Hayden Ballard in the II-3 class and Aman Ramadani in the II-2 class. They are both very talented young players from Queensland, who have gelled into the team environment exceptionally well,” Scott said.

“Our more experienced players have welcomed Hayden and Aman with open arms and are really embracing and nurturing them into the team which is fantastic to see – we have great camaraderie.”

The international PWII tennis landscape has increased in size, and the Australian team is well equipped to rise to the occasion with the added competition.

“If you take into consideration the II-2 sport class, which is players with Down syndrome, last year internationally we had four competitors worldwide,” Scott explained.

“This year we have 13 which is a massive jump in numbers, and really shows the growth in the PWII space.

“I envisage this number will continue to increase in the coming years and we’re well prepared for that moving forward. Tennis Australia is a world leader in supporting this pathway and providing amazing opportunities for our players.

“Our Australian representatives, high performance and junior players have access to world-class facilities and training, and the more talented players that we have in our pathway, the greater chance we have of competing on the world stage.

“It’s not only about tennis but it’s about providing opportunities that fulfill their lives as well. It’s learning how to be a great person, a good competitor and a team player.”