Wheelchair Tennis … Then and Now
July 1, 2009 | By Dan Dwyer
In the early 1980s, I received a phone call while in the middle of a staff meeting. The caller was requesting to enter a men’s tournament. Being rather busy at the moment, I told him that I would transfer his call to the tournament director. He interrupted by saying that he had a potential problem. I asked what the problem was and he told me that he was in a wheelchair. I must admit that I was a little taken aback and told him that I didn’t have time right then to discuss it with him, but that if he liked, I would hit some balls with him the next day as long as he understood that I would be very honest and upfront about what I thought the possibility of someone playing in a wheelchair was. He agreed and we met the next morning at Point Set Indoor Racquet Club. John Johnson showed up on time in an unusual wheelchair and we went on to the court.
After five minutes, I knew that John was correct on the phone about there being a potential problem. He would probably be able to beat 85 percent of the players in my club. We played for about 30 minutes and then had a serious discussion which began my education into the world of wheelchair tennis. John told me upfront that he didn’t really expect to play in the tournament, but was interested in promoting wheelchair tennis and wanted to know how I felt about it. He told me that there was an organization of players in chairs, the Wheelchair Tennis Players Association (WTPA), in California and that a gentleman by the name of Brad Parks was the founder. I got in touch with Brad, put together some financial backers, and in a very short time, founded the National Tennis Association for the Disabled and arranged a wheelchair exhibition in Madison Square Garden (MSG) during what was then The Masters, run by Gene Scott. Gene Mayer, the number four-ranked player in the world and a lifetime friend, agreed to serve as our Honorary Chairman of the event, and from there, things just started to happen.
The exhibition at MSG was quite unusual. As we entered the court, the noise was so loud that there could be no communication between the four of us (Suzanne Lippe, Brad, myself and an amputee in a chair), but after four balls of the first rally, you could hear a pin drop in MSG. People were just as amazed as I was with John and particularly impressed with Brad who was then the top wheelchair player in the country and probably the world at that point and was much stronger than John. The spectators were in a state of awe and the silence in the arena was awesome … everyone was mesmerized.
Following the exhibition, I was interviewed on most, if not all, the major networks. After the initial shock of watching the video I presented of Brad and Randy Snow, the interviewers would always ask for our address and phone number so that people could send money. I always replied the same way. “I am not here to raise money, but rather to show all those sitting at home in wheelchairs that wheelchair tennis is real. It is truly a competitive sport played at the highest levels and with only two basic rule differences from able-bodied tennis:
1. Wheelchair players are allowed two bounces. In reality, the second bounce is rarely used and the rule exists primarily to prevent a drop shot followed by a lob.
2. The player must have one buttock in the chair when he/she strikes the ball. Some wheelchair players have the ability to stand for limited periods of time and obviously this would be a huge advantage that had to be prevented.
At this time, the USTA had a Special Populations Committee that intermingled peoples of all disabilities (mental and physical) and quite frankly the wheelchair players were unhappy with the situation as was I. After a two-year period, we got Wheelchair Tennis Sub-Committee status, but without specific funding allocated just to wheelchair tennis. About six years after that, then-President Les Synder appointed Standing Committee Status to Wheelchair Tennis, and I was appointed its first chairperson. Shortly thereafter, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) also formed a Wheelchair Tennis Committee (prior to that time, there was an International Wheelchair Foundation that was supported by the ITF), and I was appointed the first American to serve on that Committee.
The USTA Wheelchair Committee had three basic goals at its inception:
1. To do all in our power to put ourselves out of a job by increasing awareness of the need for much more research, and thereby, someday be in the situation that there would be no more people in wheelchairs and therefore no more need for our committee.
2. Have what was to become know as up and down competitions, intermingling able-bodied and wheelchair players.
3. Have a U.S. Open Wheelchair Division at Flushing Meadows, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Sadly, we have not achieved our first goal, but I do believe that remarkable progress has been made, and that someday, possibly in my lifetime but certainly in my children’s lifetimes, spinal cord injuries resulting in paralysis will be a thing of the past.
Quite happily, the second and third goals have been realized even though just about everyone at the time said that it could not be done. The same John Johnson mentioned earlier in this article was runner-up with his able-bodied doubles partner in the USTA 3.5 Men’s National League three years ago and John is a teaching pro in Florida instructing able-bodied players. Congrats John!
There is a U.S. Open National Wheelchair Tennis Championships held during the U.S. Open. Because of scheduling conflicts with the Para Olympics, it is not held in years that there is an Olympics. In 2009, the event will take place during the second week of the Open (most likely Sept. 10-13, 2009). Exact dates cannot be determined at this time, as rain delays, length of previous matches, etc. only allow for one day’s notice. There are four separate divisions:
1. Men’s Open, featuring the top seven ITF males and one wild card.
2. Women’s Open, featuring the top seven ITF females and one wild card.
3. Quads, featuring the top four ITF quads.
4. Juniors, featuring the top four ITF juniors.
The wheelchair matches are usually played on viewer-friendly Courts 7 & 11, but again, this is subject to change depending on the myriad problems that exist with scheduling such a huge event. Remember, the U.S. Open is the largest sporting event in the world and it is held right here in good old New York.
The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is very wheelchair-friendly, and there is ample seating specifically designed for wheelchair and disabled spectators. The Arthur Ashe seats are expensive, but they are some of the best seats in the house. I urge all of you who read this to let all of your challenged friends know that seats and day passes are still available for this year.
Did you know that the USTA is the only governing body in the United States to be appointed by an Act of Congress as a governing body and as such is totally responsible for the selection of all of our International and Paralympics Teams?
Finally, there are several wheelchair programs available throughout New York City and Long Island. Most of them offer full scholarships for those in need. If you or anyone you know needs information about these programs, you can contact the ETA offices or contact me directly at Point Set Indoor Racquet Club in Oceanside, N.Y. at (516) 536-2323. Each of them could use volunteers to help out with clinics, paperwork, sponsorships, transportation, etc. So all TABS (Temporarily-Able Bodied) are welcome and appreciated. You can make a difference and what a difference that is.
