I had been wanting to explore sports where I could compete at a high level again (my climbing glory days have passed). I thought that playing lots of tennis growing up and into my twenties would increase the likelihood of me enjoying wheelchair tennis. Like most things, I decided to just dive right in and start by attending a three-day, 18 hours, wheelchair tennis camp organized by the USTA. Almost all the other attendees were competitive/nationally ranked players, so I fitted right in.

I felt like I was doing a Rachel Dolezal by being ambulatory and in a wheelchair, but learned that a lot of players are mobile and can just get out of their chairs and walk.

Wheelchair tennis really is 90% wheelchair skills and 10% racquet skills. And my wheelchair skills were/are APPALLING. The thing I probably had the most difficulty with was holding the racquet in my hand at all times while pushing the wheelchair rims. Not surprisingly, the thing I was most adept at and picked up the quickest was serving while in a wheelchair.

At the end of the camp, my assessment was: wheelchair tennis is not the sport for me. I didn’t like how the sport made my body feel. My body wasn’t tired in satisfying ways and I felt very confined and restricted (no doubt due to my shit wheelchair skills) and I didn’t like sitting in the chair for such long periods of time. Wheelchair tennis players have ginormous trapezoids, while I like having a neck. It was a disappointing outcome, which means I am still on the lookout for fun parasports, or sports where I can perform as well as an able-bodied person.