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Wheelchair tennis is one of the fastest growing and most challenging of all wheelchair sports. To meet this demand, the USTA offers programs geared towards the wheelchair player.
Rules are the same as stand-up tennis, except the wheelchair player is allowed two bounces of the ball. Wheelchair tennis provides persons with disabilities the opportunity to share in activities with their peers and family, whether able-bodied or disabled. Playing wheelchair tennis adds to socialization and the normalization of life after sustaining a disabling injury. Proficient wheelchair users can play and actively compete against stand-up players.
A wheelchair tennis player must have a medically diagnosed, mobility-related disability, with a substantial or total loss of function in one or more extremities. In wheelchair tennis, the player must master the game and the wheelchair. Learning mobility on the court is exciting and challenging, and helps build strength and cardiovascular ability.
Please email Valerie Weaks at weaks@pnw.usta.com for more information on wheelchair tennis programs in the USTA Pacific Northwest. For general information regarding wheelchair tennis, please click here.
USTA Adaptive Tennis
Tennis is a sport without boundaries. Yes, there are lines on a court, but they aren't there to exclude anyone, regardless of disability.
Adaptive Tennis recognizes four main categories of differently-abled players:
- Developmentally disabled (learning disabilities, autism, Down's Syndrome, mental retardation)
- Physically disabled (birth defects, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, muscular dystrophy, etc.)
- Consumers of mental health services (psychiatrically disabled, emotionally disturbed)
At risk/environmentally disabled (substance abusers, mentally and physically abused, homeless, HIV positive individuals, persons within the juvenile justice system, etc.)
For each of these groups, Adaptive Tennis supports adaptive tennis programs, providing grant money, equipment and resources for specifically-tailored programs that provide fun, fitness and a positive social experience for participants. Regional clinics and instructional programs are held throughout the country, often in conjunction with agencies devoted to serving special populations within the respective communities. The enjoyment, physical well-being and contact shared by participants has proven to be positive sources of self-esteem, helping open doors to a more positive lifestyle.
For more information, please email Valerie Weaks at weaks@pnw.usta.com.
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