St. Louis Indoor Wheelchair Tennis Championships build national reputation

The fourth annual St. Louis Indoor Wheelchair Tennis Championships took place July 25-27 at Chesterfield Athletic Club. The Level 2 tournament continued to grow in participation, as it drew 45 competitors from 17 different states this year.

“My favorite part of the tournament was the overall level of competition,” said Kevin Green, one of the top wheelchair tennis players in America and a key organizer of the tournament. “I know a lot of the players from all the years I’ve been playing.

“Being from St. Louis, I’ve been playing at this club since I started—almost 30 years. I just love being able to have a tournament here and being able to play against people from all over the country.”

Players traveled to St. Louis from such states as Pennsylvania, Delaware, Florida, Alabama, Texas and Wisconsin. The 45 participants was over a dozen more than in 2024, as the tournament has grown each year.

The tournament also distributed more than $2,000 in prize money, with $200 going to the winners and $100 to the runners-up in singles and doubles in four different divisions. Participants in the junior age groups received gift cards, regardless of finish, while the winners received trophies.

The growth of the tournament has not been a surprise to the participants or organizers.

“We’ve just been reaching out, doing a lot of recruiting using word of mouth and social media,” Green said. “I think it’s exciting that word’s getting out that this is a really great tournament.”

Mark Zolman, the tournament director, said: “I’m not surprised. We’ve got a good reputation as a player’s tournament. Having the hotel close by is a benefit. I think this tournament could include as many as 55 or 60 players at the current location.”

The reputation of the tournament is now in the national conversation. Travis Nock traveled all the way from Millsboro, Delaware to participate in the St. Louis Indoor Wheelchair Tennis Championships for the first time.

“The community is a pretty tightknit group,” Nock said. “Obviously, there are tournaments all over the country. But when tournaments have a reputation for doing well—when the city has a reputation for hosting its competitors—it’s not hard to find good tournaments compared to others that are advertised.”

The level of competition was wide-ranging, as were the ages of participants, ranging from pre-teens to competitors in their 60s.

“The competition is definitely getting better,” Green said. “It’s very exciting to see a wide variety of ages and levels of competition.”