At 53, Stéphane Haudet is one of the greatest wheelchair tennis doubles players in history.
Stéphane Houdet is a wheelchair tennis athlete born in 1970. An amateur tennis player and professional veterinarian, he lost the use of his left leg following a motorcycle accident in 1996 in Austria. Alongside his profession, he started disabled golf and became the French number one in 2001, then the best European number in 2003. In 2004, he finally decided to have his leg amputated, which had become stiff, and started wheelchair tennis in 2005, at the age of 35.
Stéphane Haudet took part in his first Paralympic Games in 2008 in Beijing and won his first gold medal in doubles, partnered with Michaël Jeremiasz. In 2012 in London, he won the bronze medal with the same partner, as well as the silver medal in singles. The same year, he became world number one in singles for the first time. Partnered with Nicolas Peifer at the Rio Games, the French pair became Paralympic champions, and repeated the feat in Tokyo in 2021. At 53, Stéphane Haudet is taking part in his fifth Paralympic Games, but does not intend to stop there. “In Paris or elsewhere, I would have gone anyway, because I even consider that these Paralympic Games will not be the end of my career, I am already looking at Los Angeles and Brisbane.”
At the cutting edge of technology
Since he joined the circuit, Stéphane Haudet has been a pioneer in the research and development of equipment, particularly in improving wheelchairs. He is one of the only players who is not actually seated in his chair but “on his knees”. “I come from able-bodied tennis. So I am looking for a position that allows me to play by mimicking the position of the standing game.” This different sitting position allows him to have more reach and power. He is also looking to save weight on his chair. “A new orthotist made the shell, an Italian team made the new chassis, Korima continues to work on the wheels of the chair to make them as light as possible. We managed to reduce its weight from 10 to 6.4 kg.”
Stéphane Haudet’s track record
- Paralympic Games: Gold medal in 2008, 2016 and 2021 in doubles, bronze medal in 2012 in doubles and silver medal in 2012 in singles
- Roland-Garros: winner in 2012 and 2013 in singles, in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2018 in doubles
- Wimbledon: winner in 2009, 2013 and 2014 in doubles
- US Open: winner in 2013 and 2017 in singles, in 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2023 in doubles
- Australian Open: winner in 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2016 in doubles
- Masters: winner in 2011 in singles, in 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019 in doubles