Wheelchair tennis duo named November Allianz Athlete of the Month

The USA’s wheelchair tennis doubles pair of Nick Taylor and David Wagner have been named Allianz Athlete of the Month for November.

The long-time quad duo won their 10th UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters title, becoming the first doubles partnership to take their tally of Doubles Masters titles into double figures. Taylor and Wagner bounced back from losing their round-robin pool match against top seeds Antony Cotterill and Andy Lapthorne to beat the Brits when they met them again in the final. It was the US pair’s 13th consecutive final at the event in Bemmel, Netherlands.

Taylor and Wagner earned 64 per cent of the public votes. Swiss wheelchair racer Manuela Schar was second with 15 per cent of the votes. Italian wheelchair fencer Beatrice Vio came in third (10 per cent). US snowboarder Mike Shea; and South Korean badminton doubles team of Jungjun Kim and Sam Seop Lee were also nominated.

The 2017 winners so far are:

January – Jeroen Kampschreur, Netherlands, alpine skiing

February – Veronika Vadovicova, Slovakia, shooting

March – Maria Paula Barrera, Colombia, swimming

April – Jean Claude Niringiyimana, Rwanda, taekwondo

May – Evan Medell, USA, taekwondo

June – Alfie Hewett, Great Britain, wheelchair tennis

July – Petrucio Ferreira, Brazil, athletics

August – U Cheol Park, South Korea, wheelchair rugby

September- Zahra Nemati, Iran, archery

October – Ivan Sivak, Ukraine, Para dance sport

November – Nick Taylor and David Wagner, USA, wheelchair tennis