Iowa duo get first place in adaptive doubles national tournament

Nate and Theresa Williams won the gold medal in the 2023 Adaptive Tennis National Championships in Orlando last month. The mother-son duo from Cedar Rapids said they were surprised when they found out they won first place in their division. 

“You had no idea how the other teams in your division had done in their matches so it was truly a surprise to both of us,” Theresa said. “The format of playing was new to us also, so we were getting adjusted to several aspects of the game we both love to play.”

26-year old Nate has been playing for close to 20 years, when his mother taught him and his sister while they were young children. While his sister didn’t continue, Nate never stopped playing. Though Nate has played at the USTA National Tennis Center before, his mom said he was never nervous and always remained calm during matches.

“We met some very nice people from around the country who are great tennis players,” she said. “We both thought the overall level of play was very high. It was fun to see some players we had met before at other events and we learned about other tournaments that we are considering playing in, as doubles and as singles for Nathan. Some of the comments about Nathan's play were, ‘Incredible’, ‘He never misses’, and ‘That serve!’”  

Nate usually plays around five to six tournaments each summer, and a men’s league in the spring. He also sits on the USTA Iowa board. USTA Iowa and USTA Missouri Valley each helped fund the trip for the Williams family