In 2005, Mestre and Amirlan won the inaugural Wimbledon Wheelchair Competition, taking home £1,300 each. Fast forward to 2023, and Alfie Hewitt and Gordon Reid, the All England Club wheelchair doubles champions, have earned £13,000 each.
Mistry says he wouldn't change anything about his career, during which he has traveled the world and made lifelong friends. Those times may not have been rich in money, but they were rich in experience – including a locker-room conversation with Agassi before the US Open final.
“When you entered a tournament in those days, you paid an entry fee, say £200, and that included accommodation, food and entry to the tournament,” said Mistry, a four-time Paralympian who won 68 titles and was one of the best Paralympians. Top 10 in singles or doubles for more than 12 years.
“I was playing the French Open once and sharing with a French guy. I didn't know him, they put us in a room. His snoring was so bad that I actually had to take my pillow and duvet and sleep in the room. The hallway.
“Today, everyone has single rooms, they've taken their coaches with them, they're flying first class. It's a different world. I think in an average year, even at the end of my career, I would probably be earning £20,000 for the year and I would have done 20 championship”.
When it was announced in August 2001 that the following year's Australian Open would include wheelchair competition, Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard said: “This new initiative gives us an opportunity to further develop the sport by showcasing the best in the world.”
Organizing wheelchair tennis at the same time and place as a Grand Slam changed perceptions, integrating wheelchair tennis into the non-disabled game in a way that, in Mistry's words, was “embedded rather than bolted on”.
“It's not just being at the Grand Slam that gives it some kind of credibility, but the exposure of being part of the event as well,” he adds.
“It adds a lot towards the inclusive nature that wheelchair tennis brings.”
That exposure has helped the likes of Alcott, triumphant Dutch legend Esther Vergeer, Mestre compatriot and eight-time Grand Slam singles champion Hewitt – who was shortlisted for the 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award – become bona fide stars.
These days, it is common for a wheelchair event to be staged within an ATP or WTA event – the prestigious Queen's Club tournament in London is among those to be held in the first stage – and this trend looks set to continue.
Vergeire, who runs a tournament in Rotterdam, told the ITF in 2020:, external He added: “Regular wheelchair tennis tournaments should exist, and are very, very important for the development and growth of this sport.
“But to raise the profile of wheelchair tennis and make it visible to more and more audiences, I think it's important that we incorporate more and more tournaments throughout the year.”
The integration into the non-disabled game has helped the continued growth of wheelchair tennis. By last year, the Wheelchair Tennis Tour, which began in 1992 with a handful of events, had expanded to include 169 tournaments in 40 countries.
The tour includes seven levels, plus a mini-series. Its popularity is also booming.
