30th Year of The Texas Wheelchair Championships

By James Roth, jroth@acnpapers.com

The Texas Open Wheelchair Championships, part of the NEC wheelchair tennis tour, will take place May 27 through May 30.

“This is the oldest tennis wheelchair tourney in the history of the sport; we never missed a year,” said Carlos Turic, president of the Dallas Wheelchair Tennis Club. “It defines wheelchair tennis, and it has always been around the Dallas area.”

According to Turic, wheelchair tennis in Texas was started by Randy Snow. Snow was a native Texan and a nationally ranked tennis player. Snow was involved in an accident that left him in a wheelchair.

While traveling to California, he discovered wheelchair tennis and immediately fell in love with the game. Snow brought the game back to Texas with him, and with the help of local tennis coach Bill Hammett created the DWTC.

“The mission has been to grow and develop to create opportunities for players,” said Turic.

The only rule difference between wheelchair and regular tennis is that the ball is allowed to bounce twice instead of once.

“It creates a level playing field,” said Turic. “In wheelchair basketball, it is difficult to have able-bodied players and wheelchair players on the court at the same time. With wheelchair tennis you can have that mix of players; it is a beautiful thing.”

This is the third year the tournament will be at the Oak Creek Tennis Center. This year there will be 60 players coming from all over the nation. States represented include Oklahoma, Florida, Louisiana, California, Arizona and Michigan.

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