Adaptive

JTCC Para-Standing athlete Kemit-Amon Lewis represented JTCC on the national stage by competing in the Para-Standing World Championships in Italy June 18-21.

The event features more than 100 athletes from 30+ countries who engage at the highest level of competition across four classifications.

Adaptive tennis continues to grow at JTCC, and USTA’s Wheelchair & Para-Standing Camp reflected that momentum with a record of 40 athletes (28 Wheelchair & 12 Para-Standing) participating in May.

Players from JTCC Junior Champs, Champs I, Champs II, and Full-Time Champs programs tried wheelchair tennis for the first time in honor of National Adaptive Sport Day on April 28.

High-level Para Standing athlete Kemit Amon-Lewis was also on court, demonstrating to the group the Para Standing discipline for athletes with physical disabilities who play standing. After representing Para Standing Tennis at the Australian Open All Abilities Day earlier this year, Amon-Lewis brought an elite presence to the day promoting inclusion for all.

JTCC is the place to be this Memorial Day weekend! Join us May 23–25 for the USTA Wheelchair & Para Standing Tennis Camp in College Park, MD. Learn from world-class coaches and USTA National-level experts in an immersive, three-day experience designed to take your game to the next level.

“Down Under” – literally “under” the bright lights of the Australian Open (AO) – JTCC Para Standing athlete Kemit-Amon Lewis showcased his skills on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.

Lewis competed in a Para Standing Tennis (PST) exhibition during the Grand Slam’s All Abilities Day at Margaret Court Arena on January 27. The appearance came on the heels of his participation in the Oceania Para Standing Tennis Championships several days earlier—to him, the gold standard for international PST competition.

JTCC Junior wheelchair tennis player Spencer Davis has reached a major milestone, earning a #8 world ranking on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior Wheelchair Tennis Tour—placing him among the top 10 Junior wheelchair tennis players and top ranked American in the world.

A high school sophomore and member of JTCC’s High Performance Champs II program, Davis has made steady progress in the last two years training alongside High Performance athletes.
“I have been able to further develop my game and improve different parts of it recently because of JTCC and their outstanding coaches,” said Davis.

JTCC hosted an All-Coaches Integration Training in Building 2 on January 5, bringing coaches and players in the Adaptive programs together for a unique, hands-on learning experience.

Eight players from JTCC Wheelchair and Para Standing programs participated in integrated drills, situations where athletes with and without disabilities are learning tennis together. The players provided real-time feedback to help coaches from the High Performance and Developmental teams learn how to adapt instruction and environments to support every athlete.

More than 150 athletes and Unified teammates representing 16 Maryland high school teams competed indoors at JTCC on November 11 in the Special Olympics Maryland Unified Tennis High School State Championships.

Unified Tennis features participants with and without intellectual disabilities and includes various levels of tennis experience. Athletes are assigned to groups of four to compete in round robin doubles based on skill levels. Each team includes a player with and a player without an intellectual disability.

JTCC made history as one of the first tennis centers in the U.S. to hire a full-time Adaptive Tennis Program Manager. We spoke with Gabby Hesse, Head of Wheelchair & Adaptive about what “defining excellence” means through adaptive sport and how JTCC is changing what’s possible for athletes of all abilities.

Breaking barriers on and off the courts, two JTCC adaptive tennis players were featured in a Washington Post article this past Friday documenting their selection for their high schools’ tennis teams this year.

A testament to their exceptional skill and unyielding determination, freshmen Spencer Davis and Maya Gareri have joined their respective teams at Langley High School in McLean, VA, and Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, MD, since the season began earlier this spring.

JTCC is proud to announce that Head of Wheelchair and Adaptive Tennis Gabby Hesse has been named to the USTA Wheelchair tennis national development team.

The Para Standing Championships held March 1-2 brought together 15 exceptional athletes from the United States and Chile and featured a remarkable display of talent across multiple competitive categories including Men’s and Women’s singles and doubles.