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Kippa-Ring’s Isabella Allen is preparing to defend her national blind tennis title and compete overseas for the first time, with Seeing Eye dog Ira supporting her independence across work, travel and sport.
Kippa-Ring Champion Builds Towards Nationals
Kippa-Ring’s Isabella Allen is preparing for another major step in blind and low vision tennis, with a national title defence ahead before her first overseas international tournament.
Allen, 35, trains in Redcliffe and Mitchelton while working as a Research Agreements Officer at Mater Research. Her schedule also includes volunteering, tandem cycling, blind soccer, catching up with friends and travelling for blind tennis tournaments.
She is listed by Tennis Australia as Queensland’s No. 1 B1 women’s singles player and No. 2 in B1 open doubles.
Allen’s next competition focus is the Australian Blind and Low Vision Championships from July 17-19, where she will defend the B1 women’s singles title she won last year. She claimed that title against Victoria’s Tess Whelan, before the pair also won B1 open doubles.
Isabella Allen’s Path Into Blind Sport
Allen was born with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative retinal condition that causes gradual vision loss. She began losing her vision at 10 years old, first becoming night blind before her field of view, colour vision and central vision progressively changed.
She began receiving support from Vision Australia at 16. That support helped her secure employment and introduced her to Swish, a sport for blind and low vision players, which became part of her broader interest in blind sport.
Blind tennis has since become a major part of Allen’s sporting life. Her recent results include finishing as B1 open singles finalist at the 2026 SA Blind and Low Vision Open, where she also won B1 open doubles with Isaiah Muller.
At the 2025 WA Blind and Low Vision Open, Allen was runner-up in B1 open singles, third in B2-B4 women’s singles, part of the winning B1 open doubles pairing with Whelan, and third in B2-B4 open doubles with David Gordon.
Ira Supports Work, Travel And Tennis
Seeing Eye dog Ira is part of Allen’s daily life, helping her move through work, travel and competition.
Ira is Allen’s third dog guide, following Tatum and Penny. Tatum was Allen’s first dog guide, while Penny was matched with her in 2021 after Tatum’s health declined earlier than expected.
Penny joined Allen during a period that included university, tennis and interstate travel. After Penny retired, Allen was matched with Ira, who now accompanies her through daily commutes, busy places, airports and tennis events.
Ira also sits courtside during matches and has travelled with Allen to tournaments in Adelaide and Melbourne this year.
Airport assistance services remain part of the travel process, but Ira helps Allen move through unfamiliar environments and around obstacles with greater independence.
Before having dog guides, Allen used a white cane. That helped her identify obstacles, but travelling with a trained Seeing Eye dog has allowed her to move more freely and with less physical effort.
From Redcliffe Training To New Zealand
After the Australian Blind and Low Vision Championships, Allen is due to compete in a Queensland tournament at the end of July.
She and Ira are then expected to travel to New Zealand for her first overseas international tournament.
The upcoming trip follows a busy period of competition and travel, with Allen continuing to balance tennis with work, volunteering and other blind sports.
How B1 Blind Tennis Works
Allen competes in B1, the lowest vision category in blind and low vision tennis.
B1 players wear blackout eye shades so matches are played on equal terms. Courts use tactile line markers, while foam balls contain bells so players can track play by sound.
Players call when they are ready to serve and receive. In B1 matches, the ball can bounce up to three times.
The 2025 Australian Blind and Low Vision Championships included 49 athletes from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The event included a first gender-split B1 singles draw at national level and record participation in the B1 and B2 women’s divisions.
Appeal Supports Future Seeing Eye Dogs
Allen’s story is connected to the 13th annual Petbarn Foundation Seeing Eye Dogs Appeal, which runs through July.
The appeal aims to raise more than $1.2 million to help train 24 future Seeing Eye Dogs. Each dog costs more than $50,000 and can take up to two years to train.
Since the appeal began in 2014, it has raised more than $10 million and funded the training of 209 Seeing Eye Dogs.
Donations are being accepted at Petbarn stores and online during July, with the Petbarn Foundation to double donations between July 24-26.
Published 7-July-2026
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