The month of November is known globally as Disability awareness month and to end the awareness campaign Wheelchair Tennis South Africa in conjunction with the Office of the Premier are hosting a Celebrity Wheelchair Tennis Challenge at the Nasrec Expo Centre, Hall 8 from 09h30 to 12h00.

Wheelchair tennis is one of the few sports where an able bodied and disabled individual can compete with or against each other. Our aim is to not only honour and showcase the skill and ability of our local champions, many of whom have done South Africa proud this year, but to demonstrate that tennis gives physically disabled individuals the opportunity of integrating into society, and participating in a sport that can be played regardless of age, gender, or level of ability.

Four teams will be competing in a short format match for honour, awareness, and the trophy. The teams will comprise of a wheelchair tennis player, and an able bodied player from the Fed and Davis Cup Squads and a Celebrity. Although each team is lead by a celebrity other Celebrities have joined in the celebration and form part of the teams.

5FM’s DJ Euphonik and Thomas Msengana as well as e.tv Club 808 presenter DJ Mo Flava and Jack Parow are the four team leaders. These well known celebs may be seen strutting their tennis skills on court, however they are mostly responsible for motivating their teams and their supporters clubs to ensure they bring out the best in the players on court. Other Celebrities that will be taking part in the Ability Challenge are 5FM’s Catherine Grenfell, Duran Collett, Fix Moeti and Sias du Plessis as well as e.tv’s Craz-e presenters, Zola Hashatsi, Kriya Gangiah, Morena Sefatsa, Stephanie Sandows, Thuli Phongolo and Lee-roy Wright joined by DJ Naaldekoker, Louise Crouse and Sonja Myburgh on the Jack Parow team.

These celebrities will be joined by Paralympic Stars Lucas Sithole - South Africa’s top quad’s player and no 6 in the world. Lucas was also a finalist in the recent SA Sports Awards category -‘Sportsman of the Year with a Disability’. Kgothatso Montjane - SA’s top woman and no 10 in the world. She was also a finalist in for the 2012 SA Sports Awards category -‘Sportswoman of the Year with a Disability’.

These two will be joined by SA's No 1 Ranked Men's player - Evans Maripa, who climbed an impressive 50 plus spots on the international ranking in 6 months to his current ranking of 31 in the world, and qualified for the Paralympics. The 4th member of the wheelchair tennis squad will be Leon Els who is currently ranked 3 in SA, and is tipped to be one of the top players in the world in time to come. Able bodied players such as Natalie Grandin, ranked No 41 on the Women’s Doubles Ranking, Jeff Coetzee who was ranked as high as 12 in the world in doubles, and Rik de Voest, who is currently ranked 269 on the world rankings will be taking part.

The tennis event forms part of the Disability Day Celebration hosted by the Gauteng Premiers Office where over 2000 persons with a disability will gather to celebrate their Ability. This will certainly be a fitting end to a year of triumph and celebration for WTSA.

If last year’s success at International Disability Day 2011 is anything to go by, we are expecting 2012’s Celebrity Wheelchair Tennis Challenge to be HUGE! In 2011 Wheelchair Tennis SA (WTSA) and 5FM radio station teamed up to celebrate International Disability Day at St. Stithians College, Sandton, Johannesburg. It was a day filled with an abundance of fun, laughter and most definitely respect for the great skill required to master the sport of wheelchair tennis. Well known DJ's such as 5FM’s DJ Fresh, Gareth Cliff and Poppy Ntshongwana as well as their 5FM colleagues tried the sport of wheelchair tennis. It was good fun and they now have an understanding of the skill and "multi-tasking" involved in the art of wheelchair tennis. Top wheelchair tennis players made it all look so easy, but don’t be fooled it's most definitely not! A natural flair for the game, countless hours of practicing, and a healthy body and mind is what is required to be a top performer in this sport.

International Disability Day is a United Nations sanctioned day that aims to promote understanding of people with disability and encourage support for their dignity, rights and well-being.