I want to support “Adaptive tennis in standing position “

I want to support “Adaptive tennis in standing position”

In Houston, Texas.
The sound of of hitting the ball with a racquet echoes throughout the indoor tennis court venue.
A fast-paced rally continues.
It lasted so long that I thought it would never end, but in the end it was a sharp and heavy smash shook the venue.
The tense atmosphere was suddenly shattered.

The audience applauds.

A player shouts out with joy.
He had one leg short.

A player drops his racquet in frustration.
He was wearing a prosthetic leg.

*****

In December 2016, I was at the International Adaptive Standing Tennis Tournament. What is adaptive standing tennis? I had never heard of it. But before I knew it, I was in the audience seats of an American tennis court facility.

My father lost his arm in an accident at work. He loved tennis before his accident and continued to play even after losing his arm. One of his tennis friends called out to his father.
“Would you like to join us in an international adaptive standing tennis tournament to be held in America?”
Ken Shibatani. He lost one of his legs to osteosarcoma and was wearing a prosthetic leg.

His father replied that he was going, so I decided to follow him.
What is adaptive standing tennis? Isn't it wheelchair tennis? That question came to mind, but it didn't matter. I had never traveled overseas before, so I was excited about the opportunity to go to America, so I prepared even more enthusiastically than my father.

14 hours on a plane. About an hour's drive from the airport.
When I arrived at the venue, a Chilean man greeted me with a hug. He was hemiplegic.
The first day was a practice day, and while my father and Mr. Shibatani were practicing on the court, an American man came over asking to mix in. Like Mr. Shibatani, he was also wearing his own prosthetic leg.

*****

The next day began with the opening ceremony, where the participating players gathered together.
28 people from 11 countries.
People with prosthetic legs, people with no arms, people with canes, people with braces, people with hemiplegia, people with short height.
The tournament had previously been held in South America, and this was the first tournament to be held in North America. For some reason, I've never heard of ``standing tennis for people with disabilities'' in Japan.

3 days from then.
I watched many different people's matches.

Surprised.
I was simply surprised.

A player with a prosthetic leg who catches a fast ball.
He reacts wherever the ball goes and moves freely around the court.
I once saw athletes with prosthetic legs running in para-track and field. So I expected that I would be able to run fairly fast.
However, with each hit, he quickly moves to the best position in line with the ball, regardless of whether it is vertical or horizontal.
Athletes with lower leg prostheses are no longer distinguishable from healthy athletes.

Short players and players with hemiplegia who hit many sharp shots.
The ball passes through the opponent's body and he is unable to even get his racket out.
Occasionally, they unleash a powerful blow that is hard to imagine from their appearance. The sphere was hit hard against the court, violently distorting its shape. The accumulated energy explodes and jumps up, cutting the wind.

A serve that grows rapidly.
A bright drop shot.
An uninterrupted rally.

The best part is that players without both arms and even players with one prosthetic leg (in other words, they are missing three limbs) were playing tennis normally.

Strictly speaking, the players I saw who had no arms had short arms, but they did have arms that were about the length of their elbows. Insert the tip of one arm into the triangular part of the racquet, the throat, and secure the racquet by holding the grip side under the armpit of the other arm.
Compared to an able bodied person, the distance between the racket and the body is clearly closer.
Can you really hit it? However, the players skillfully manipulate the racket and shoot the ball with a tremendous amount of rotation. Since he cannot reach out and catch the ball, he runs around the court with great agility.
The audience was excited by his play, which turned his short arms into a strength rather than a weakness.

*****

3 days
I watched with excitement as the outcome of the match unfolded.
There were many moments that took my breath away.
He couldn't help but applaud his wonderful play.

My heart trembles.
This is definitely a sport.
It's a tennis match.

In the end, during my first four days in the United States, I only had to travel to and from the tennis court and the hotel next door. I couldn't take my eyes off the spectacular play, so much so that I regretted going sightseeing.

Speaking of tennis for people with disabilities, there are also deaf tennis and sound tennis, but the most famous is wheelchair tennis. However, the ``disabled tennis players'' I have seen in America do not need to be in wheelchairs to play tennis.

In fact, there are some people who cannot play tennis if they are in a wheelchair.
For example, if you don't have an arm or are paralyzed, you won't be able to hit a ball with a racket while operating a wheelchair.

Why is there only wheelchair tennis at the Paralympics?
Just as there are people who want to play tennis while sitting, there are also people who want to play tennis standing up.
Why haven't there been opportunities for such people to test their strength to the fullest?

After returning to Japan, the Japan Adaptive Stand-up Tennis Association (commonly known as JASTA) was established in 2017 with Mr. Shibatani at the center. Then, friends gathered from all over the country, and the following year, in 2018, they obtained the status of a general incorporated association, and in 2019, they held the first All Japan Adaptive Stand-upTennis Tennis Tournament.

*****

The All Japan tournament was just so much fun.
In addition to the games, there was also a corner where you could try out prosthetic legs and a corner where you could rally with the players, which was very popular. Yurukyara characters also came to support us.
One of the most famous projects was the ``handshake with various hands'' corner.
JASTA has people of all kinds. People with congenital malformations, people with amputated hands with rounded tips, people with decorative prosthetic hands, and people with myoelectric prosthetic hands. It's not every day you get the chance to shake hands with people with so many different hands at once.

Currently, it is not possible to gather together for practice sessions, but in the past we used to hold practice sessions two to three times a month in the Kanto and Kansai regions.
One day at the practice session, a little girl came. She was born missing her right ankle. It was her first time playing tennis, but she chased the ball with sparkling eyes and swung the racket with all her might. She seemed to be enjoying herself so much that she has since said, "How many more nights do I have to sleep before I can play tennis?"
This is why standing tennis for people with disabilities is needed.

Since 2016, several players from JASTA have participated in international tournaments every year and have achieved excellent results. Categories are divided by disability, and last year there were three winners, two runners-up, one third place, and one doubles pair.　
The international tournament was scheduled to be held in Japan in May of this year, but was canceled due to the effects of the new coronavirus.
It's a shame that we won't be able to watch the fierce battle between standing tennis players from all over the world who have vowed to take revenge on the Japanese players.
However, when it is safe to hold a world tournament, I would definitely like to hold it in Japan and have a large number of Japanese spectators watch world-class adaptive standing tennis.
In addition to the world tournament, I would like to see an all-Japan tournament and regional tournaments held so that those who want to stand up and play tennis can make their wish come true anywhere in Japan.

Tennis is a popular sport.
please,
I hope everyone who wants to try tennis has the chance.
May those who loved tennis before getting sick or injured be able to get back on the court.
I hope you can start playing tennis again after getting sick or injured.
So that children with disabilities can play tennis.

Written by Yui Takashi.
Japan Adaptive Stand-up Tennis Association member.
May 11, 2020.

Translated by Google.

日本語はこちらです。
https://note.com/jasta/n/n556999b0567a