Two Southern wheelchair players recently participated in the international Invacare World Team Cup held September 15-22 in Tremosine, Italy. The Invacare World Team Cup is often referred to as the Davis Cup of wheelchair tennis.
Karin Korb of Atlanta, ranked #13 in the world, helped carry the US Women’s team into the finals against the number one seeded Netherlands team. Unfortunately in the finals the US team was defeated 2-0. To get to the finals Karin and teammates defeated Great Britain 3-0, Korea 3-0, and Australia 2-1.
In the Quad competition, Kevin Whalen ranked number 11 internationally and from Birmingham, helped the US team reach the finals by defeating Canada 2-1, Italy 3-0, and Sweden 3-0. In the finals, the defending champion Great Britain won a hard fought battle 2-1. Unfortunately, in one of the final singles matches, the battery in the American players powerchair went dead and could not successfully be fixed in a reasonable time, giving Great Britain the point, in what was a very closely played match at the time.
The US Men reached the finals and lost to Australia in a deciding doubles match. The US Junior team took 3rd place.
Congratulations to both Karin and Kevin for not only representing the United States, but the Southern Section.