Wheelchair tennis athletes ‘inspirational’ at Rock Hill center

A 58-year-old Army veteran who fought in Saudi Arabia has been pushed beyond her comfort zone many times. But now she battles on the tennis court.

Twila Adams served in the Army as a sergeant in Dessert Shield and Desert Storm. When she returned home to Charlotte, she was severely injured in a car wreck in 1994, Adams said.

With a tennis racket in hand, she now pushes her limits in a wheelchair.

“I am an athlete,” Adams said Friday at the Rock Hill Tennis Center.

Adams joined 17 wheelchair tennis players from three states - Georgia and the Carolinas - at the 2017 Rock and Roll Tennis Classic in Rock Hill, which is an International Tennis Federation sanctioned tournament. Adams didn’t have a tennis partner at the event, but that didn’t stop her from rallying around the players.

“She was kind enough to volunteer,” said Kim Ozmond, tennis center supervisor.

Like any tennis players, they whirl around the court, pushing their bodies to the limit, sweating and puffing.

They, however, have the added challenge of pushing the wheels on their chairs — many times having to spin around — to make it across the court in time to hit the ball.

“These guys are inspirational,” Ozmond said. “They make you appreciate what you have in life.”

The athletes use specialized chairs with tilted wheels for better mobility, Ozmond said. The game rules are the same, except wheelchair athletes are allowed two bounces of the ball on the court instead of one, before sending it back over the net, she said.

Nearly two dozen wheelchair tennis athletes are members of the Carolina Rolling Rackets and gather at the Rock Hill Tennis Center every Friday for a free clinic, which is open to the public. The center has tennis wheelchairs available for use. The group’s youngest player is 7 years old and the oldest is 65, Ozmond said. The group won the U.S. Tennis Association of South Carolina’s 2016 Community Service Award.

“It has been one of my favorite outreach programs,” Ozmond said of Rock Hill’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism, which built the sports venue in 2005.

Adams said it was the persistence of the tennis center’s coaches who helped her finally hit the ball over the net.

“This woman has persevered,” Ozmond said about Adams, who taped the racket around her hand when she first started playing because she couldn’t hit the ball.

The journey to playing tennis was even more of a challenge for Adams because she is a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. Many of the athletes are paralyzed from the waist down but have full range of motion with their upper bodies, she said. But Adams wanted to keep sports in her life.

“I fell in love,” said Adams, who has regained strength and can now walk short distances. “I believe can’t never could do nothing.”

To learn more about the Carolina Rolling Rackets, call 803-326-3842 or visit cityofrockhill.com.

Tracy Kimball: 803-329-4072

This story was originally published March 11, 2017 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Wheelchair tennis athletes ‘inspirational’ at Rock Hill center."