Tennis Is More Than Sport, It’s Medicine By Aki Wolfson I have taught tennis to people of all ages, from five-to-85-years-old, maybe even older, and one of my specialties is teaching wheelchair tennis. I am also Tournament Director for the annual Jana Hunsaker Wheelchair Tennis Tournament held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for 20 years, and would like to share with you stories of three courageous people who played tennis, where tennis became a form of medicine. A college student who played tennis
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for his school had a tragic accident and became paralyzed where he ended up in a wheelchair for life. He is quadriplegic, which identifies players with limited mobility, power and strength in at least three limbs. His coach at the time wanted him to continue playing tennis and introduced him to wheelchair tennis. He came to class in a motorized chair and was, understandably, quite distant. He explained he was right-handed and had very little mobility, but could grip with his left. I told him that he needs to get in a manual chair and tape his right hand to his racquet. He played each week and eventually he competed in the
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
annual Jana Hunsaker Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, and he couldn’t believe that he was actually competing again. That was the first time I had seen him smile! A woman was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis which is defined as chronic and a progressive disease which leads to damaging nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Since she learned about this, her world started to spiral down. She told me she had been an athlete all her life and to think now that she was wheelchair-bound, she totally lost her will to live. When she discovered she could play tennis in a wheelchair, her outlook became bright. Her first day in class, she was elated because she was sweating and couldn’t believe she was active again and playing a sport. She also came out each week to play and competed in my tournament. I had her playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium where she had a team of friends and relatives come watch her play. She told me that was the most memorable moment in her life and cried with joy. A player in his 20s was paralyzed from a skiing accident. He did not think there was anything left to do when it came to sports and being active. When he discovered wheelchair tennis, he became obsessed with it and told me that he was determined to be a world class ITF open player and set that as his goal.
