2019 USA TAP Open  Three Midwest Players Compete for Team USA

Three Midwest adaptive standing players recently competed at the USA TAP Open, part of the TAP (Adaptive Tennis in Standing Position Organization) World Tour. The USA TAP Open is held annually in Houston, Texas and encourages athletes with physical disabilities from around the world to compete against each other. The event was held from December 6-8.

Danny Scrivano (Michigan), Thalita Rodrigues (Ohio) and Brittany Kozakiewicz (Michigan) all joined Team USA and competed well throughout the tournament. The tournament featured four draws based on disability and tennis ability. Each player was guaranteed three singles and three doubles matches. 

Scrivano is no stranger to this tournament, playing each year since its inception in 2016. The 22-year-old assures that this tournament was his best showing to date. He finished with a bronze in the singles division and a silver in the doubles.

"It is great to compete on an even playing field against athletes with similar mobility conditions," said Scrivano. "Since it's an event that brings in athletes from around the world, the competition is very strong; I like playing against the best in the world."

Rodrigues also represented the Midwest well, coming in second in the singles division after losing a tough third-set tiebreaker and winning her doubles division. Rodrigues has been playing tennis her entire life and most recently graduated from the University of Toledo where she played at the collegiate level. 

"I played very well in this tournament; it was such a good tournament for me, and I had so much fun playing," said Rodrigues. "I learned a lot from seeing other players who had a different disability than me and seeing how everyone finds a way to play."

Kozakiewicz also gave her competition a run for their money, despite recovering from an injury. More so than the results, Kozakiewicz says that the experience was one for the books and something she will always remember.

"I've learned so much from this tournament," said Kozakiewicz. "The biggest thing is that tennis comes in all shapes, sizes and abilities.

"No matter how far you come or how much you've practiced, at the end of the day, we are all here to support each other."

Each player is looking forward to the tournament next year and hopes that even more players from the Midwest will join the call to competition with them.

"In order to grow this modality, we need to constantly be recruiting new players," said Scrivano. "I'd like to challenge everyone to bring at least one new player to each tournament in 2020.

"We need to show that we are here and want to play and grow this modality."