Wheelchair Tennis Spotlight: Midland Area

Tucked away in the northern part of Michigan, tennis runs deep in Midland. From a state-of-the-art tennis facility to plenty of outdoor space to foster a love of the sport, this Midwest powerhouse seems to have it all. But one thing that was missing from the picture was the important offering of wheelchair tennis. Enter Maddy Roth.

Growing up right outside of Midland, Roth found a passion with coaching tennis from a young age. After she graduated from high school, having played on the team, Roth found her calling in junior tennis. Roth spent most of her time in between school teaching and perfecting her craft. It wasn’t until Roth finished graduate school that she made the jump from junior to wheelchair tennis. To Roth, the transition was both exciting and new, but one that made sense with her physical therapy degree she had worked so hard to obtain.

“I felt like I could use my talents with physical therapy and my passion of coaching tennis and combine them,” said Roth.

As she began to search the Midland area for wheelchair coaching opportunities, it soon became very clear that the city was lacking in this area. Roth decided it was time to put matters into her own hands.

Roth was able to connect with USTA/Midwest Wheelchair Tennis committee head Lynn Bender, and from there the wheels started turning. Bender trained Roth and two of her physical therapy classmates to see exactly what it took to properly coach wheelchair tennis. Roth became more and more confident in her abilities to not only coach the players but create a wheelchair tennis program for Midland and the surrounding area.

Roth was then able to partner with Michigan Sports Unlimited for their help on recruiting players as well as receiving sport wheelchairs for the clinics. The mission of Michigan Sports Unlimited is to provide unlimited recreational opportunities for athletes with disabilities, so the relationship with Roth was helpful in further growing the program.

Nick Long, owner of Michigan Sports Unlimited, said that tennis has not only become a safe sport that adaptive/wheelchair athletes can enjoy but a staple of their offerings. 

"It's hard for us as an adaptive sports organization to learn tennis because we aren't experts at tennis, so I think having the oversight of the USTA helping us has been beneficial," said Long. 

As Roth has navigated the challenges with introducing a new program, she cannot help but notice the positive effects it has on the surrounding community.

"I think it's such a blessing for players and even the coaches to do it [play wheelchair tennis]," said Roth. I think for the players, the empowerment that they get from playing wheelchair tennis translates to other areas in their lives...realizing they can do more than they think they can."

Though COVID-19 threw a wrench in Roth's summer plans for her players, she has not let it stop her from maintaining the deep connections she has formed with them. Now that stay-at-home orders have been lifted in Michigan, players are looking forward to returning to tennis in a one-day event on June 27, 2020, coordinated by Roth. The event will focus on catering to all different levels and abilities through match play. This will be the first event back from the long break from tennis, and Long says that players are beyond excited.

"This is our first real adaptive event that we have done this year, " said Long. "It's tennis, so it's outside and not close quarters, so I  think it's a good test for us to get people out and get back into adaptive sports."

Roth hopes the event will be a success and will help kickstart interest for the six-week fall program. Over the years, the program has been steadily growing and become a staple of tennis in Midland and surrounding area. From the Michigan Sports Unlimited standpoint, athletes have benefited from having tennis right in their backyard. 

"I think tennis is an awesome sport, especially for someone just starting out," said Long. "Tennis is something you can step into relatively easily."

 It is always Roth's goal to encourage new players to try the sport and fall in love with it, just as she did.

"I would encourage players to give wheelchair tennis a try," said Roth. "I know it can be kind of intimidating, but really whoever shows up, we can make it work and make accommodations for players if necessary.

"It's just supposed to be fun and empowering for players."