The Voice of Tennis raises for disabled people
He was the ‘voice of Wimbledon’. From 1951 to 1991, British former tennis player Dan Maskell commentated the greatest tournament in the world for BBC. He died in 1992 and left a mark on generations of tennis fans, who were amazed by his wonderful descriptions and his endless knowledge of the sport. He also left a mark on his colleague and friend John Barrett, with whom he spent over 20 years commentating the player’s feats in Wimbledon.
Five years after Maskell died, Barrett and the Maskell family founded the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust to develop tennis programmes for disabled people. It was a dear cause to Maskell who fought in the Royal Air Force during WWII before working as a rehabilitation officer in London’s Torquay and Loughborough hospitals, where he assisted wounded aircrew to recover confidence and fitness. To do so, he would make them play tennis. Since its creation, the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust has had similar goals, i.e., helping wheelchair tennis players by giving them equipment and money, but also offering assistance and adaptive courses to blind, deaf, or visually impaired tennis players. It is supported by the Wimbledon Foundation and tennis brand Wilson and relies on a stable structure to fulfil its mission –preserving Dan Maskell’s memory while carrying on his devotion to disabled athletes.
