Last Friday’s wheelchair tennis clinic at Gold River Sports Club had that unmistakable start-of-season energy.
As we begin planning for the upcoming tennis season, players are starting to show up, and this past Friday we welcomed seven participants on court. It was great to have Sac State standout Bass Mansour back after his semester abroad in Canada, alongside Mark Mason, our rising beginner who continues to put in the work. Marcus Oden returned once again, fully committing to tennis as he transitions from a successful wheelchair basketball career. We also had our wily veteran Michael Lipp, professional pickleball champ and rapidly improving tennis player, Philip Peabody, our local stalwart A-level competitor, my wife, the very first wheelchair tennis junior in the sport’s history, and myself, Coach Marty.
With such a strong turnout, we took advantage of the numbers by starting with a full group warm-up before transitioning into match play simulations to begin sharpening our tournament readiness. One highlight was a doubles matchup with Marcus and me taking on Michael and Phil, which will serve as a baseline as we track how our competitive play progresses over the coming months.
Momentum is building, and we are excited to keep it going. We would love to see even more players come out and join us. With USTA National Grassroots grant applications due at the end of January, we submitted on behalf of the Adaptive Athletics Association to help grow the program. If awarded, the grant would allow us to invest in additional equipment like a ball machine, technology to help visualize strokes, serves, and movement, and funding for special weekend sessions that bring in coaching support and welcome new athletes into the game.
Thanks to everyone who came out, and we look forward to many more great sessions ahead.