In the quiet corners of community courts across Canada, a revolutionary sporting movement is taking shape – one that challenges our very understanding of what’s possible in athletics. At the center of this quiet revolution stands Naqi Rizvi, a blind tennis champion whose athletic prowess is matched only by his determination to transform the sport’s accessibility landscape.
“The first time I held a racket, people thought it was just therapeutic recreation,” Rizvi told me during our conversation at a Burnaby community center where the distinctive sound of foam-filled tennis balls with rattling bearings echoed through the court. “Now we’re talking about Paralympic inclusion. That journey speaks volumes about how perceptions around disability sports are evolving.”
Blind tennis, also known as sound tennis, uses specialized equipment including audible balls and smaller courts with tactile boundaries. Players are classified based on their level of visual impairment, with B1 category athletes having complete blindness competing alongside B2 and B3 players with varying degrees of visual perception.
What makes Rizvi’s advocacy particularly compelling is his dual approach – pushing for both grassroots awareness and international recognition simultaneously. Last year, he helped establish four new blind tennis programs across British Columbia, while also joining the International Blind Tennis Association’s Paralympic campaign committee.
“The numbers tell an important story,” explains Dr. Miranda Chen, sports accessibility researcher at UBC. “Participation in adaptive tennis has increased 47% across Canada since 2019, with blind tennis showing the strongest growth trajectory among all para-tennis variations.”
The Canadian Paralympic Committee has taken notice. Their recent policy brief identified blind tennis as one of three emerging sports with significant potential for future Paralympic inclusion, alongside para-climbing and blind football.
Provincial funding has followed this growing recognition. British Columbia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport recently announced a $175,000 grant specifically earmarked for adaptive tennis infrastructure, with approximately 40% directed toward blind tennis court modifications and equipment.
When I visited Rizvi’s training session, I was struck by the community that’s formed around the sport. Parents of visually impaired children chatted courtside while volunteer coaches – some sighted, others visually impaired themselves – provided guidance. The atmosphere balanced competitive spirit with genuine camaraderie.
“What we’re building goes beyond sport,” Rizvi said between practice serves. “It’s about creating spaces where blindness isn’t the defining characteristic of participation. The court becomes a place where adaptive techniques are just another way of playing, not a compromise.”
The Paralympic campaign faces significant hurdles. Sports must demonstrate worldwide participation across at least three continental regions before consideration. Currently, blind tennis has established national programs in 31 countries spanning four continents, but competition structures vary considerably between regions.
“Standardization remains our biggest challenge,” notes Emily Williams, Tennis Canada’s adaptive sports coordinator. “We need uniform classification systems and competition formats that can be implemented globally while still respecting regional development differences.”
For Rizvi, these challenges represent opportunities rather than obstacles. His approach combines pragmatic policy advocacy with compelling storytelling. Last month, his documentary short “Seeing Through Sound” was featured at the Vancouver International Film Festival, bringing blind tennis to new audiences.
The film captures what I witnessed on court – the remarkable spatial awareness and concentration required to track an audible ball’s trajectory, the modified techniques that maximize efficiency of movement, and the profound sense of accomplishment when a precisely aimed shot finds its target.
Community response has been remarkable. Local tennis clubs report growing waitlists for blind tennis programs, with many sighted players expressing interest in trying the sport while blindfolded to better understand its unique challenges.
“What Naqi and other advocates have accomplished is shifting the conversation from accommodation to innovation,” says Michael Torres, executive director of Blind Sports BC. “We’re not just adapting existing sports – we’re developing entirely new approaches to athletic competition that challenge conventional wisdom about visual requirements in sport.”
The Paralympic bid’s timeline remains uncertain. Most sports require years of development before receiving consideration, with full inclusion often taking over a decade from initial application. But Rizvi’s perspective reflects both patience and urgency.
“Every year outside the Paralympic program means another generation of visually impaired athletes missing opportunities,” he explains. “But we’re not waiting for validation to build something meaningful. The community growth happening right now is transformative regardless of Paralympic timelines.”
For those wanting to experience blind tennis firsthand, demonstration events are scheduled across five Canadian cities this summer, with equipment and coaching provided. The Canadian Blind Tennis Championships will be held in Toronto this September, featuring approximately 45 athletes from across the country.
As I prepared to leave the court, Rizvi shared a final thought that captured the essence of this movement: “Sports have always been about overcoming limitations. Blind tennis just makes that journey more explicit. The sound of the ball, the feel of the court under your feet – they become your eyes. That’s not a limitation; it’s just a different path to the same joy of play.”
In a sporting landscape often dominated by commercial interests and celebrity culture, Rizvi’s campaign reminds us of sport’s more profound potential – creating communities where differences become strengths and where boundaries between ability and disability blur through human ingenuity and sheer determination.
