USTA wins Move United leadership award for adaptive sports

By AI, Created 4:20 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – Move United honored the United States Tennis Association with the Dr. Robert Harney Leadership Award at its annual Education Conference in Cape Cod, recognizing USTA’s long-running role in wheelchair and Paralympic tennis. The award highlights how USTA helped integrate adaptive tennis into mainstream governance and raised the profile of the sport at the 2025 US Open.

Why it matters: - The award spotlights the United States Tennis Association’s role in making wheelchair tennis part of tennis governance rather than a separate add-on. - USTA’s model has influenced how other national governing bodies approach adaptive sports. - The recognition comes as prize money for wheelchair tennis reached $1.6 million at the 2025 US Open, the highest in Grand Slam history for the sport.

What happened: - Move United presented the Dr. Robert Harney Leadership Award to USTA at its annual Education Conference in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. - The award honors a company, organization or individual that has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in the adaptive sports movement. - Evan Enquist, USTA’s director of adaptive tennis, accepted the award on behalf of the organization.

The details: - USTA became the first national governing body worldwide to take on governance of a Paralympic sport in 1998. - That move made USTA the first national governing body to oversee both Olympic and Paralympic tennis. - In 2003, USTA created the first National Manager and Head Coach positions for wheelchair tennis by any national governing body worldwide. - Move United CEO Glenn Merry said USTA pioneered wheelchair tennis as an integrated core part of its mission across every level. - Merry also said Move United partners with USTA through a working memorandum of understanding. - Enquist said USTA is committed to ensuring tennis is accessible to everyone. - The award was created in October 2012.

Between the lines: - The honor is less about a single event than about long-term institutional choices that helped normalize adaptive tennis. - USTA’s history suggests mainstream sports bodies can expand access without isolating adaptive athletes from the sport’s broader structure. - Move United’s recognition also signals that adaptive sports leadership is being judged by system-building, not just competition results.

What’s next: - USTA is expected to continue working with Move United to grow tennis across the adapted sports community. - The Adaptive Sports Hall of Fame remains the place to track past recipients and related awards, with more information available here. - USTA says it will keep pushing to make tennis accessible to players of all abilities.

The bottom line: - Move United is honoring USTA for helping set the standard for how adaptive tennis can be governed, funded and integrated into the sport at the highest level.