Francois Vogelsberger named ITF Wheelchair Coach of the Year for 2020
Tennis Australia’s Francois Vogelsberger has been named ITF Wheelchair Tennis Coach of the Year for 2020.
The Coach of the Year Award is presented to a coach who is considered to have made a substantial contribution to the development of wheelchair tennis and players both nationally and internationally. The Award is presented by the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Committee and was introduced in 2004.
As a touring coach for Dylan Alcott and Heath Davidson, Vogelsberger has achieved tremendous success, guiding Alcott to 14 Grand Slam singles titles and Alcott and Davidson to four Australian Open Grand Slam doubles titles.
On the Paralympic stage, Alcott won the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 quad singles gold medals, while the three-time ITF World Champion partnered Davidson to the quad doubles gold medal in Rio and the quad doubles silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.
As National Coach of Australia's BNP Paribas World Team Cup quad team, Vogelsberger oversaw two Australian victories at the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis team event, in 2016 and 2018, with Alcott and Davidson combining to lift the quad title on both occasions.
Vogelsberger is also Coach Mentor for Australia's National Talent Development Coaches, he is the project lead on Hawkeye courts for wheelchair tennis at Australia’s National Tennis Centre and has supported Australia's Paralympic Pathway Programme throughout, encouraging and promoting wheelchair tennis development opportunities at local, state and national level.
Well-respected by his peers, Vogelsberger also liaises with Paralympics Australia's Research team, and collaborates with Tennis Australia's Sports Medicine team to integrate, innovate and improve athlete performance and seek the best for athletes.
The positive example he provides to others by always looking for ways to improve his coaching knowledge and promote wheelchair tennis makes him a great ambassador for the sport.
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