Wheelchair tennis legends Rick Draney and Esther Vergeer were inshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame this July, and on Friday, they were honored on court at the US Open.
Ahead of the men's semifinal match between Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, Draney and Vergeer received their Hall of Fame rings inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. The pair made history with their induction in 2023; wheelchair players only come up for induction in Newport, R.I. every four years, and this year marked the first time that two wheelchair tennis players were inducted simultaneously.
Draney played prior to the onset of the Grand Slam era in wheelchair tennis, but pioneered the quad division, making his presence in Queens especially fitting in 2023. It's the first year that the quad wheelchair division of the US Open Wheelchair Championships presented by Deloitte features 16 players.
Vergeer, an all-time great athlete in any sport, won a staggering 48 major titles (21 in singles and 27 in doubles), including six US Open singles titles and eight US Open doubles titles. She was ranked world No. 1 for 668 uninterrupted weeks from October 2000 to January 2013, and won 470 straight matches to close her career.
USTA Chairman of the Board and President, Brian Hainline; Chief Executive, Pro Tennis and US Open Tournament Director Stacey Allaster; and Managing Director, Major Events Megan Rose represented the USTA at the ceremony, while new ITHOF CEO Dan Faber and 1971 US Open men’s singles champion and former president of the ITHOF Stan Smith were also present.
Take a look at their night to remember inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
