Alfie Hewett and Gustavo Fernandez star at BMW Open's first wheelchair tennis event

MUNICH—Walking around the grounds of the BMW Open, one can’t help but smile when taking in the operation for the first time. The branding may scream it’s an ATP 250, but you wouldn’t know it otherwise—for starters, stadium court is packed.

Luxury cars provided by Munich’s title sponsor line one pathway, where opportunities await to sit behind the wheel and learn more about each model’s offerings. Fans can grab lunch in an international-inspired food court and park in a common area full of tables, or stroll to an outside court and watch the likes of rising talent Holger Rune practice before his match. Among the setup, there are multiple sit-down restaurants—yes, schnitzel is on the menu—a mobile coffee bar and a VIP dining and seating experience for those looking to level up their extravagance beyond the gas pedal.

But perhaps what stood out the most was the inclusion of another discipline: For the first time, the long-standing men’s tour stop hosted wheelchair tennis. Multiple Grand Slam champions Alfie Hewett and Gustavo Fernandez provided all the credibility one could want for a two-day exhibition and it begs the question: if tennis wanted to take its united concept to another dimension, could more ATP and WTA events sync their calendars with ITF-sanctioned wheelchair tournaments to naturally provide these athletes greater exposure?

“I think there are only one or two other events in our calendar where we integrated with ATP or WTA: Rotterdam and Queens. And I think there's now one in Eastbourne as well. So there's very few events that we get to be hosted in such great facilities,” Hewett said in a press conference Friday.

“I think we're extremely fortunate to be integrated in the Grand Slams. It's not something that I take granted.”

Hewett, who currently occupies the ITF's No. 1 ranking, explained why coming to Munich was a quick yes from his point of view. One, the chance to reach new fans. Two, the quality of the red clay he’d be playing on. And three, getting extra reps on the surface ahead of the French Open, where he is a three-time winner and reigning champion.

“Before I think there was maybe one or two tournaments going into Roland Garros that were actually on clay… [how] the ATP and WTA works, they have the grass-court seasons, they have the clay-court seasons. We don't really have those seasons at the moment,” he said.

“We're still trying to find our way. I hope they're trying to find a way to create that. So when, obviously these guys getting really cool and said, look, we're going to host an exhibition event, it was a no brainer.

“If in two, three years, if we can be integrated and have like Munich, maybe be part of Barcelona or Madrid or somewhere else. And then you go into Roland Garros you've had enough clay court experience. Whereas right now, I [next] fly to Portugal to play World Team Cup, which is on a hard court. It's bizarre. It's not perfect. It's not ideal but you work with it.”

Getting all of the sport’s best athletes linked can only help. Take Niklas Höfken, a national coach in Germany and tournament director of this week’s Para Trophy. His motivation for the showcase was simple: Own the perspective of making an impact on the tournament, city and those watching, all while gaining valuable intel with designs to host an ITF wheelchair event in 2023.

“The effect we hoped to generate here: It’s not disability sport. It’s tennis,” he told Baseline. “A forehand is always a forehand. A fight is always a fight. At the end of the day, it’s super attractive tennis.”

With that in mind, the FFT has expanded its wheelchair fields at Roland Garros from eight to 12 competitors this year. Hewett is pro-larger draws to improve the system’s fairness given the difficulty for any player to break into the elite eight. The Norwich, England native assures those occupying the coveted ranking positions are all for increased opposition at the majors.

Another shift has been the tactical approach taken on the match court. Assertive striking was regularly employed by Hewett and Fernandez, who would ultimately clinch the friendly event over the Brit in straight sets. Hewett, now 24 and coming off a runner-up showing to Shingo Kunieda at the Australian Open, believes it’s a trend that has helped elevate wheelchair tennis to its highest peak thus far.

“I think right now, from a singles perspective, it's probably the best quality of tennis, especially on a hard court,” he declared. “Players like Gustavo (Fernandez), Joachim (Gérard), Shingo (Kunieda), they realized it was going in a different direction. And it was more about attacking the opponent and taking everything as early as possible. And I had to learn that.

“It's really aggressive. Not just with the tennis, but positioning and where it's going. So it'll be interesting to see where it goes the next five years.”

During that stretch, let’s hope the powers behind the major tennis bodies can effort bridging the silos of the sport together more frequently. We could all cheers to that over a bratwurst and beer.