Defending champions among 2015 Wimbledon entries
25.06.2015Yui Kamiji and Jordanne Whiley are the women’s duo to beat, while Stephane Houdet and Shingo Kunieda headline the men’s side.
![Stephane Houdet and Shingo Kunieda France's Stephane Houdet, left, defeated Shingo Kunieda for the 2013 Roland Garros men's singles titles, and just hours later partnered with him to win the doubles title.](https://oldwebsite.paralympic.org/sites/default/files/styles/mainpicture_612/public/images/20150625/130628114702722_Roland_Garros_2013_03121.jpg?itok=392fAtZG)
Entries have been confirmed for the Wimbledon wheelchair tennis doubles event, which includes two-time defending champions Stephane Houdet of France and Shingo Kunieda of Japan.
The event is part of the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour and takes place 10-12 July. The top-three ranked doubles partnerships at the entry deadline, plus one wildcard pairing, make up the four pairings for the men's and women's events.
Men’s doubles teams
Stephane Houdet (FRA) and Shingo Kunieda (JPN)
Gustavo Fernandez (ARG) and Nicolas Peifer (FRA)
Michael Jeremiasz (FRA) and Gordon Reid (GBR)
Joachim Gerard (BEL) and Alfie Hewett (GBR)
Women’s doubles teams
Yui Kamiji (JPN) and Jordanne Whiley (GBR)
Jiske Griffioen (JPN) and Aniek van Koot (GBR)
Sabine Ellerbrock (GER) and Lucy Shuker (GBR)
Louise Hunt (GBR) and Katharina Kruger (GER)
Houdet and Kunieda were winners of three of the four Grand Slam doubles titles together in 2014, when Houdet became the first men's wheelchair player to complete a calendar Grand Slam of doubles titles. The duo captured the Australian Open men's doubles title in January.
After finishing runner-up at Roland Garros for the last two years, Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez and France’s Nicolas Peifer make their debut as a partnership at Wimbledon.
France’s Michael Jeremiasz, however, is no stranger at Wimbledon. The three-time former doubles champion at Wimbledon will join Great Britain’s Gordon Reid, who is coming off his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros with Kunieda.
Belgium’s Joachim Gerard will join first-time Grand Slam competitor Alfie Hewett of Great Britain, who is No. 1 in the world junior rankings.
The women’s entries include defending champions Yui Kamiji of Japan and Jordanne Whiley Great Britain. The pair won the calendar year Grand Slam in women's doubles in 2014.
The Netherlands’ two-time former champions Jiske Griffioen and Aniek van Koot return to Wimbleon after playing Kamiji and Whiley in the last five Grand Slam finals.
Griffioen and van Koot regained the Roland Garros title this year, ending Kamiji and Whiley's sequence of five successive Grand Slam titles.
Britain's Lucy Shuker, a three-time runner-up at Wimbledon, will join forces with Germany's Sabine Ellerbrock for the second straight year. Rounding out the women’s pairings is Great Britain’s Louise Hunt, making her Grand Slam debut, and Germany's Katharina Kruger. The duo was awarded the wild card for the women's doubles.
A total of GBP 64,000 in prize money will be offered. Rankings quoted are the singles and doubles rankings of players at the entry cut-off date of 18 May, with the combined ranking being the best combined ranking for partnerships based on their singles or doubles rankings at the cut-off date of 18 May.
Read more about the Wimbledon Wheelchair Tennis Doubles pairings at the International Tennis Federation’s website.