Karin Korb has made all sorts of people believers when they watch her game at venues like the Jana Hunsaker Memorial next month at Flushing Meadows.

By Liz M. Treston

Karin Korb is all concentration on the court, one contributing factor in her success on the USTA wheelchair tennis circuit.

One of the great benefits of wheelchair tennis is that almost anyone can play. Quads can strap a racquet to their wrists with ace bandages; some brave ones even play using duct tape. Serious players have three-wheel tennis chairs that can literally spin on a dime, but players often compete in power chairs or their everyday chairs. It truly is a sport for everyone.

But a very few, of course, are better than most. For those players, like United Spinal member Karin Korb, there’s the US Tennis Association (USTA) tournament circuit where you can meet players at the level of your game.

Karin Meets Jana

From June 7 and 10, the Jana Hunsaker Memorial Wheelchair Tennis Tournament will mark its seventh year at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park-Flushing, New York. The tournament celebrates the life of a Jana Hunsaker, a woman dedicated to promoting wheelchair tennis for every level. One of the estimated 125 players who will be in the tournament this year will be Karin Korb.

Korb says she became “a card carrying member of the disability brigade” in 1985 when she injured her spine while vaulting as a gymnast.

“I am a full blown idealist,” she says, “the kind who believes that all people are good. That being said, what motivates me to put forth my greatest effort is knowing that everything I think, everything I do and everything I am is because I am perfect potential for nothing short of greatness. I operate in the light. I am annoyingly positive, and at times may seem to others as being fake, but my foundation is quite simply that I operate from a place of joy and that’s that. I enjoy the process of diplomacy and watching people begin to recognize things they have always known but perhaps just needed a little reminder.”

Korb is currently ranked forth in the United States and has represented the USA in two Paralympics. She is currently training for the upcoming 2008 Paralympics games in Beijing. Korb has been playing wheelchair tennis since the early 90s and has traveled the world to compete. She doesn’t have a favorite tournament as she finds each of them to be unique. “Favorite would be tough to gauge. I like them all for very different reasons. I’m simply appreciative of all the tournaments that create such selfless opportunities for all tennis players to be successful.”

Playing with the Greats

The unique thing about playing tennis at Flushing Meadows is that it is home of the US Open. Players get to serve and return on the same courts as the Williams sisters and Andy Roddick.

“When I play in Arthur Ashe Stadium,” Korb says, “I think of all the people who would simply freak if they had the opportunity to walk on the court, let alone play on it. And then I think ‘ . . . and I play wheelchair tennis!’ I say that often when I’m in places that usually bring forth the ‘ooooos and ahhhhs.’ I also think when I’m playing on Arthur Ashe, that’s it’s just another court that I need to hit the ball on. When I am reflective of being on the court, all I can think of is how I am personally affected by all the work that Arthur Ashe has done and the legacy he has created for generations to come. He was a leader, simply by doing what he loved to do. And that’s how I live my life.”

And she does. This philosophy has led Korb to a successful career off court, as well, as director of Sport Partnerships and Community Relations for Blaze Sports in Atlanta, Georgia. This program provides sport programming and business development strategies across the United States. It teaches physical conditioning and sports to juniors and adults with varying disabilities.

So come out and watch Korb glide across the hard courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Flushing, New York. See some fabulous athletes from all across the United States and the world as they celebrate the life of Jana Hunsaker. Or come play with the greats.

To join the tournament or for more information please contact the Sports department at United Spinal 718-803-3782, ext. 268 or 273, or the tournament director, Aki Takayama-Wolfson, at 718760- 6251.

Liz M. Treston is a frequent contributor.