THROUGH THE STRINGS: HOW TENNIS FUELED ROGER CRAWFORD TO AIM HIGH USPTA
by DeVonte’ Martin, USPTA Public Relations Coordinator
F
or 30-year USPTA Professional Roger Crawford, the odds have always seemed stacked against him. Born with a physical challenge that affected all four of his limbs from the elbows and knees down, Crawford could have let his disability limit him. But he found inspiration and the drive to succeed through the game of tennis. “People reading this may wonder, wow, how did this guy get involved in tennis? I got involved in tennis because first and foremost, it was a sport that I could play by myself,” Crawford said. “I learned how to play against a backboard. Tennis for me was much more than a game, it was something that I could point to and say, ‘I do that well’ and it made me feel like I was like all the other kids.” To participate in the game he loved, he had to first learn how to hold a tennis racquet. Crawford looked high and low for a racquet that he could hold on to and call his own until one day he came across the “holy grail of tennis racquets,” the Wilson T2000, the game’s first stainless-steel frame. From the look, the feel, and the grip, Crawford knew the moment he laid eyes on the Wilson T2000, that it was meant just for him. “The Wilson T2000 had two parallel bars from the head of the racquet to the grip,” Crawford said. “My right finger fit perfectly in between those two parallel bars. It was a perfect fit and that was how I learned how to hold a tennis racquet.” As his game improved throughout the years, Crawford set his sights on playing competitively. He played on his high school tennis team at Monte
Vista High School in Danville, California and played all four years at the NCAA Division I level at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he became the first athlete with a physical challenge affecting all four limbs to compete in an NCAA Division I sport. He also played as high as #3 in doubles, #6 in singles and posted a career record of 22-11. “By no means was I the best player on my team, but I did play Division I college tennis and people always ask well how that happened,” Crawford said. I focused on what I could do and what I could control. I wasn’t
the fastest nor the strongest, but I learned that if I could be consistent hitting the ball over the net, I gave myself a pretty good chance of being successful.” After graduating from Loyola Marymount University, the Granite Bay, California native became a renowned motivational speaker where he speaks at between 75 – 100 meetings a year for a variety of different industries. His clients have included companies such as Amazon, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Nike, Wilson, etc. and has been featured on national media outlets such as CNBC, Good Morning
Roger Crawford’s love for tennis started with a Wilson tennis racquet.
50 - USPTA ADDvantage Magazine — February 2019
