The Foundation for Global Sports Development this week announced the 10 recipients of its 2023 Athletes in Excellence Award in recognition of athletic achievements, humanitarian efforts, community outreach and youth mentorship. The Foundation for Global Sports Development is the main sponsor of the ITF Advantage All equity, diversity, and inclusion programme.

For the first time, seven of the ten athletes are Paralympians with two women representing wheelchair tennis: Paralympians Esther Vergeer (Netherlands) and Natalia Mayara Azevedo Da Costa (Brazil).

Ranked top twelve in the world, top ten for doubles, and number one in Brazil for wheelchair tennis while competing, Natalia Mayara Azevedo Da Costa qualified for the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games. She won a silver medal at Les Petit As, Wheelchair Tennis Junior Masters, and gold medals at the Juniors South American Games and the Para PanAmerican Games in both singles and doubles, giving Brazil its first gold medal in tennis. Since retiring from competition, Mayara has volunteered with organizations which deliver adaptive sports programs for youth, including Angel City, PlayLA, Ready, Set, Gold! YMCA, and Triumph.

Mayara has hosted wheelchair tennis clinics, conducted school assemblies, and created and shared content to share her journey and to amplify the reach and impact of these initiatives. As part of the Ready Set Gold! program, Mayara participated in their virtual series, promoting a healthy lifestyle by teaching children how to stay active at home. Mayara has volunteered for Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB) and Paralympic APC campaigns, advocating for the empowerment of Paralympic athletes and the importance of inclusivity. Mayara recently represented all Paralympic athletes at the United Nations in Switzerland, where she delivered a speech on the visibility of Paralympic sports and the significance of the Olympics/Paralympics being held in South America.

In 2004, Vergeer founded the Esther Vergeer Foundation to help children with a physical disability or chronic condition to develop self-confidence through sport. After winning her first of seven gold Paralympic medals, Vergeer began her community outreach by hosting clinics at a tournament she was playing, growing the initiative into the Esther Vergeer Foundation which today gives hundreds of children with a physical disability the chance to play sports every week across the Netherlands.

Vergeer serves on her national Paralympic delegation and is a member of the National Sports Council. She is also Director of ABN AMRO Open’s wheelchair tennis tournament. Vergeer is the recipient of the 2022 and 2008 Laureus Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. In 2016, she received the Fanny Blankers Koen Career Award - the highest accolade for a Dutch athlete. Verger was named International Tennis Federation World Champion in women’s wheelchair tennis every year from 2000 to 2012, dominating the sport until her retirement in 2013. Having won 148 singles titles and 136 doubles titles over her career, Vergeer has become a role model and advocate for female and male tennis players with a disability.

ITF president David Haggerty congratulated both athletes: “Through unwavering determination, unshakable drive and outstanding talent, these two women continue to power positive change on and off the court. They have shown the way and provided opportunity for more children and aspiring athletes with disability to aim bigger, higher, further. As active role models for the next generation of players and stars, we are grateful that they continue to work hard to grow this exceptional sport which can transform lives. We congratulate them on their award and for their invaluable contribution. Together, with the ITF and all our partners, we collectively strive towards achieving our goal to enhance lives through wheelchair tennis and to make it the leading Paralympic sport.”

Eight further athletes were recognised across a range of sports, including basketball, rugby, football and track and field. More information about the awards and the work of the Foundation for Global Sports Development can be found on the organisation’s website.