Gordon Reid has become the first British player to win the International Tennis Federation's Male Player of the Year Award for players on the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour, after the ITF announced the 2012 winners today.
The British No. 1 and world No. 7 has won the award, which is presented annually to a player acknowledged because of his fairplay, sportsmanship, on court and off court behaviour and contribution towards the development of wheelchair tennis on a national and international level, after an initial nomination process and subsequent public poll.
Reid gained more than three times as many votes as world No. 1 Shingo Kunieda of Japan, the runner-up, in the poll.
"After a memorable 2012 on the court for me, this is a great honour to be named Male Player of the Year in the ITF poll, particularly because it is an award voted for by other players in the sport, as well as tournaments and members of the public," said Reid. "I'm very grateful to everyone who has voted for me and I hope to build on last year to have an even more successful 2013."
Currently at his highest career singles world ranking of No. 7, Reid became the first British player to reach the men's singles quarter-finals at a Paralympic Tennis Event at London 2012 and ended the year as only the second Brit to gain a top 10 men's singles world ranking and earn qualification for the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters. He also reached his first Super Series final at the British Open in Nottingham last season.
Reid is contesting this week's ITF 1 Series Gauteng Open in Benoni near Johannesburg, which starts today. The Scotsman is third seed for the men's singles and drawn in the same half of the draw as top seed Kunieda.
After the Gauteng Open Reid will be one of several British players on the Tennis Foundation's Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme contesting next week's South African Open in Johannesburg, a tournament where Reid was runner-up in the men's singles and winner of the men's doubles in 2012.
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