Blind tennis player from Milton Keynes to represent Great Britain in world games

A champion blind tennis player from Mk is to represent Great Britain in the World Blind Games.

Sarah Fortescue, 55, plays with a special ball fitted with a rattle so she can locate it by sound instead of sight.

She had normal eyesight until she was 24 but then developed Stargardt's Syndrome, a rare genetic eye disease that happens when fatty material builds up on the maculas.

There’s no treatment for the disease, but vision rehabilitation can help people make the most of their remaining vision.

Sarah is sponsored by Milton Keynes Specsavers opticians.

She will compete in the World Games between August 21 and August 27, coinciding with her 10th anniversary as a tennis player.

“I am excited to be playing in the World Blind Games. It’s such an honour to be a member of Team GB,” she said.

“I am so grateful to Specsavers for sponsoring me, and they made me feel like a VIP during my appointment.’

Meanwhile, Sarah has qualified to play at Wimbledon in the ‘Play Your Way To Wimbledon’ Visually Impaired Finals Tournament on August 12.

The game is amended to suit differing levels of blindness: B4 being the most sighted and B1 being totally blind. Sarah sits at B3.

This means that the field is smaller than normal. The ball has small plastic inside to create a rattling sound and players get two bounces of the ball before it needs to be hit to the opponent. Just like standard tennis, people can play singles or doubles.

Specsavers Milton Keynes director, Steve Moore, said: ‘We are proud to be sponsoring Sarah. She’s not only representing team GB but also our community.

‘We never want people to be held back because of their eyesight and Sarah proves just that.’

‘If you can't visit one of our 1,000 locally-owned stores unaccompanied, due to disability or illness, we support access to eye health for all via our Home Visits service, which covers more than 90% of the UK.’

For further information, call the store on 01908 036641 or visit their website here.