Blind tennis player upset at being put up a level after disputed vision assessment

A blind tennis player who has won championships is upset that she is being put in a harder category for an upcoming tournament, and is disputing the assessment of her level of vision.

Aucklander Rhonda Comins said she relied on her hearing to locate the ball, which jingled, and currently played in a grade that was a level playing field because players had to wear blindfolds.

This weekend she's competing in the Auckland Blind Low Vision Tennis Open for international ranking points - but would have to play on a bigger court with her eyes uncovered.

That's because she had been provisionally placed in B2 not B1 as she expected.

"I don't have any usable eyesight, I only have a tiny visual field in my right eye it's only one degree from point of fixation when normal eyesight is 90 degrees in each eye, I have no eyesight in my left eye," Comins said.

"I have no functional field in an actual game and I am expected to play on a court that is significantly bigger so I feel like I'm being penalised on top of my disability and I found that exremely disheartening."

There were different grades in blind tennis, and players were classified according to their field of vision. The number of bounces and the court size was modified for each different visual category.

The ball was slightly larger and had a rattle in it so the players could track it.

Comins took up the sport three years ago and said it gave her a good energy boost.

"It's good exercise, this is developing myself both my mind and body ... it's fun, it's good for my wellbeing to be able to play," she said.

"I guess it's some sort of dopamine hit."

In recent years she'd competed in and won two competitions in Australia in the B1 class, for those with the most vision loss.

Comins won the women's singles in her class at the South Australia Bind Tennis Open in 2024, and the Victoria Womens Blind singles in 2025, as well as a women's singles in Whangārei last year.

"I came home with a couple of pretty medals and made some new friends and the Australians were really welcoming."

The classification process and rules were set and overseen by the International Blind Tennis Association, whose experts decided which grade players fit in.

Comins was disputing her class with Blind Sport New Zealand, which facilitated the classifications between the association and athletes.

"They're telling me they're not interested in my problem I have to comply with their rules and I'm saying that their rules are unfair, they disadvantage me, they don't give me an equitable opportunity to compete fairly."

Blind Sport general manager Helen Johnson said she understood how frustrating it was for a player to be placed in an unexpected grade.

The organisation had asked the International Blind Tennis Association to clarify the rules and its position on Comins' classification.

"If an athlete's wanting to go further or internationally, classification is critical in the early days of when they are starting to get into their sport. It allows them to understand what, within their class, are the applicable rules."

Johnson said the international associations adapted their classification regimes, based on players' feedback.

"The purpose of classification is to order groups of individuals for fair play and fair competition. It kicks in when an individual is starting to persue their sport outside of social recreation and are looking down a pathway towards national and international competitions."

She said there would be an opportunity for blind tennis players to have an in-person classification next year.

Johnson had worked in the disability sports sector for 20 years, including with paralympians, and was keen to develop blind tennis in New Zealand.

"We're trying to, particularly in tennis, grow the numbers. The growth in community numbers, while we've had a concentration of work in the [Auckland] region, I know with Tennis NZ we're looking to grow it further across the country."

Looking ahead, Comins' said her condition was degenerative.

"I hope to continue to develop myself so that I can compete at international tournaments and then possibly even represent New Zealand. In the next few years I will be totally blind," she said.

"I'm speaking out not just for myself but for other younger athletes who will be in the same position."

She was aiming to achieve ranking points in this weekend's tournament, a challenging goal in the harder classification.