A new documentary shows how five wheelchair athletes found meaning on the tennis court.

By Lori A. Wood

“I didn’t even know wheelchair tennis existed until the NASDAQ tournament in 2000,” says Grace Shafir, producer and director of the 2005 film Champions on Wheels. “NASDAQ was the first national tournament to have wheelchair tennis. People were playing wheelchair tennis between the matches, and they were so good.”

In April 2002, while at the Bausch & Lomb Women’s Tennis Association tournament in Amelia Island, Florida, Shafir became enrapt watching a clinic being taught by two wheelchair tennis athletes for seven kids with spina bifida, a birth defect in which the spinal column doesn’t close completely. “It was just amazing,” Shafir recalls. “At first, the kids really didn’t want to be there. They rolled onto the court, and there was a key phrase among them: ‘I’m tired.’

“Within minutes, Karin Korb, who was running the clinic, had them separated into two groups. She was throwing tennis balls to the kids, and the kids were hitting them. They were having fun, even when they weren’t successful. When they hit the ball and made contact with it, they were so happy. Afterward, Karin’s partner, Tiffany Geller, told me, ‘They’re so used to being told what they can’t do, and then they see that they can do something, so a whole new window is opened.’”

The experience opened a new window for Shafir and led her on the path to creating Champions on Wheels.

Worldwide Quest

The question of how mastery of sport is possible for people with physical disabilities and how this affects the spirit is the subject of Grace Shafir’s documentary. “The film took about two and a half years to shoot,” she recalls. “I had to figure out who would be the most approachable, the most interesting and who would translate the best on film.”

Shafir went around the world to find her ideal subjects. “I went to ten wheelchair tennis tournaments, and to the U.S. Open three times,” she says. “I went to the Australian Open once. In 2002, they were the first Grand Slam to have a wheelchair tennis tournament. I wanted to show people that you would encounter in everyday life who were as normal as possible, so I took the top male and female American wheelchair tennis players, Steve Welch and Sharon Clark. Steve has played against an able-bodied player, and played him even. Beth Arnoult has won two able-bodied tournaments playing doubles with her partner. I also wanted to capture families. I took Larry Quintero, who has a daughter, and Beth, who was ranked fifth, and her son Jacques.”

“I’ve been playing tennis on the tour since Jacques was two years old,” says Arnoult. “The ‘purpose in life’ that tennis gives me also reflects in my happiness and attitude in life, which gets transferred to Jacques. He is who he is because of my tennis.”

Shafir also found an amazing young athlete named Nick Taylor, who is a quadriplegic because of a birth defect. “He’s the most impressive person I have ever met,” she says. “He has arthrogryosis, or twisted joints. Nick’s legs twisted upward, and his feet were behind his ears when he was born. Here was this kid who couldn’t walk, and he had ablebodied friends that he played soccer with. When he was in high school, he was the number one player on the able-bodied tennis team. He had several operations, and won the U.S. Open Juniors in 2000.”

Slow Growth

While wheelchair tennis is slowly gaining popularity, Shafir admits that it has a long way to go. “If you took the entire purse of the wheelchair tennis tour, both men’s and women’s prizes, it would add up to less than the singles’ prize at the U.S. Open,” she says. “I think that’s the biggest reason for its slow growth. The players can’t win big prizes.”

“And you still have to pay a three hundred and fifty dollar entry fee and share a room with two other players,” Arnoult points out.

The Jana Hunsaker Tournament in Flushing Meadows, which United Spinal co-sponsors with the US Tennis Association and which most of the players featured in Shafir’s film have competed at, offered $7,500 in its sixth year this year, to be divided among winners of the main divisions.

So what can be done to draw more attention to the sport? “I think the best thing that can be done for wheelchair tennis is to include it in regular tennis tournaments, because it’s hard to go if nobody knows about it,” Shafir asserts. “But if you see it, you can’t help but be impressed by the athleticism. The NASDAQ-100 Open Tennis Tournament has the top eight wheelchair tennis players play on the outer court. Last year, when they let me put on an exhibition with able-bodied players at stadium court, people got to see the sport who otherwise wouldn’t have seen it.”

Champion Spirit

“It’s a game, and that’s what they want: equality, recognition as an athlete, and to be seen as a person, rather than a person in a wheelchair,” Shafir says of her film subjects. “In 2004, Sharon, Steve, Larry, and Nick all went to the Paralympics in Athens, Greece. Nick got a Gold Medal in doubles. He attracted quite a fan following at the Paralympics. His unique style of serving with his foot made him a fan favorite. He was in the final three of athletes who most represent the Paralympic spirit. Beth did not make the team, but she is now the number one player in America.”

“I went to the Paralympics in 2000 and 2004,” says Sharon Clark. “It was an unforgettable experience. To play in an event with five thousand other athletes from all over the world was so thrilling. The support from the crowd was wonderful.”

“The thing that amazed me is that the athletes are so happy,” Shafir points out. “They go through what they do, and truly exact the joy out of life. They’ve fought back from the brink, had the choice to give up, and elected not to. I just find it so inspiring.”

Champions on Wheels has been shown and won special prizes at many film festivals, including the Palm Beach International Film Festival and the Fort Lauderdale and Maui Film Festivals, among others.

To find out where to view Champions on Wheels, to view scenes from it, or to purchase a DVD, visit www.wheelchairchampions.com.

Lori A. Wood is a regular contributor to Action.