Wheelchair star Nico Langmann: And suddenly they are singing your name

The stands are full. It’s noisy. Not this polite tennis clapping, but real murmuring, real going along. People are standing around the court. Some are leaning on the boards, others are leaning forward as if they could carry the ball. I roll to the baseline. For a split second I notice everything at once – the ranks, the light, the voices. And then I know: This is bigger than just a match. Wheelchair tennis is the focus of the Erste Bank Open.

No ancillary facility. No morning slot. No “also”. Rather Chants. Applause. Tension. I open. And for a moment everything feels natural. But that’s not it. Something like this doesn’t happen by itself. It takes people who have the courage to change structures. Those who are willing to take the budget into their hands. They understand that inclusion is not a risk, but an opportunity.

Went “all in”.

Tournament director Herwig Straka and his team have done exactly that. Not only did they “add” a wheelchair tennis tournament, they also went “all in”. and installed me as an inclusion ambassador – at eye level. And made that clear. I was invited to the official press conference as a player along with Sebastian Ofner. During interviews in advance with tournament ambassador Thomas Muster. No matter where the Erste Bank Open was talked about, wheelchair tennis was part of the story.

And that has resonated with people. I was able to see this even before the tournament started, during a normal training session Marx Halle. My coach usually watches a session like this – maybe my grandma. This time there were suddenly spectators on the court. They remained standing. Observed. Asked questions. For many tennis players, this is everyday life. For us wheelchair tennis players it is not.

Not a given

Visibility is not a given in disabled sports. She is rare. And that’s exactly why it’s so valuable. Then came the match. Full stands. Goose flesh. Energy.

In terms of sport, things didn’t go as planned. I lost. Of course it hurts. Especially when you want to deliver when so many people are watching. If you want to show that you deserve this stage not just symbolically, but sportily. But as I thank the spectators after the last point, I realize: This event is bigger than a result. Because it wasn’t just about this one match. It was about the business breakfast in the Marx Hall, where wheelchair tennis was discussed as an economic factor. It was about “Nico Langmann and Friends” about the exchange within the para sports community. It was about the wheelchair course, where visitors could experience for themselves how challenging exercise on wheels is.

It was also about the status of the Nico Langmann Foundationto have conversations with parents, with children, with people who suddenly understood what you can achieve in sport. This tournament didn’t just fill a week’s program. It made a statement. A loud one. If that Individual final in the Vienna Stadthalle is played, then it is more than just a sporting highlight. Then it’s an image that stays. Wheelchair tennis in the center of the largest tennis stage in the country. As a little boy with a disability, I sat in the stands of this hall myself. Passionate about sports. But with no real idea that I would play down there one day.

Today I know: ideas change when realities are created. Inclusion doesn’t happen quietly. She needs a stage. She needs courage. And it needs people to implement it. What began in Vienna must not remain a one-off attempt. The impact of this event extends beyond a tournament week. It reaches into heads. In children’s room. In training halls. In decision-making floors. Maybe there will be a child in a wheelchair in the stands at the next tournament. And maybe it will no longer think: “That’s nice to look at.”

But: “This is my place.” And then we are really one step further.