wheelchair tennis

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.

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.

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.

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.

Throughout the year, JTCC participants and alumni continued to leave inspirational memories for the entire community.

The tennis journey of JTCC MedStar athlete Madeleine-Camille Preuninger was transformed overnight when she was the surprise recipient of a free custom-fit sports wheelchair six months ago. The Hartford, a leading provider of disability insurance that has dedicated itself for the past 30 years to making adaptive sports and equipment more accessible, awarded the wheelchair to Preuninger making an indelible impact on the tennis enthusiast who began playing at JTCC in 2021.

Thirty-two of the top wheelchair tennis players in the nation competed earlier this month in the USTA L4 JTCC Wheelchair Tennis Championships presented by MedStar NRH. The largest wheelchair tournament in program history with 32 competitors, the event featured 16 JTCC/MedStar players, including 13-year-old Spencer Davis, 38-year-old Bryce Doody, and 48-year-old Michael Flores, who were all crowned champions in their respective brackets.