San Diego tennis players reflect on US Open

S1: Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman on today's show , a behind the scenes look at pro tennis from two local athletes who competed at the US open. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. The US Open tennis championships wrapped up earlier this month , and while it might be the last Grand Slam tournament of the year , the season is far from over. Last week , I spoke with two local tennis players who recently competed at the US open. Alyssa An , a rising freshman at Stanford University , and David Wagner , a wheelchair tennis player and three time U.S. open singles champion. He's also won a dozen Grand Slam titles in the sport. We chatted about their U.S. open experience and got a behind the scenes look into the world of pro tennis. Take a listen. So , Alyssa , I'll toss this first question to you. You've competed at the US open before as a junior player.

S2: Um , being there three years earlier , I was kind of just in a moment of shock , and I feel like I didn't enjoy the moment as much as I wanted to , because it was just all so new to me. Um , and then coming back three years later for the women's event was just super special. And again , like I found out , I think two weeks before I had to compete. Um , so that's pretty late compared to the other players. And yeah , I just wanted to make sure I could take it all in this time. And I definitely did that and I had a lot of fun.

S1: Oh that's excellent. And you actually drew a wild card for the event , which is a huge feat. Tell me about that and what that was like.

S2: Yeah , it's an unreal opportunity. I'm super lucky to have been able to be in that position to receive the wild card to the U.S. open. Um , I played the girls nationals two weeks before the US open , and that and I won the event. So that gave me the wild card. So it's a really cool opportunity that the Usta gives us.

S1: And David , I know this was far from your first rodeo.

S3: It might have been my 18th in a row or something. I don't remember , um , that , but I've been there since the beginning of wheelchair tennis at the US open , so , um , and we just celebrated our 20th year , so I think it's right around that , that number. But , um. Yeah , you know , like Alicia said , it's it's it's an awesome experience and it's something that you can't ever get taken away from you. And , and there are times where you just want to soak it in and enjoy the whole experience and it's hard. You know , like Alicia said , when it's your first time or , you know , you're you're playing in the juniors or you're playing now in the professional level , it's hard sometimes to soak it in because you're there to compete and you're you want to play your best , but you also want to feel like a fan and be part of the experience. And so that is is always tough. I can only imagine. I mean , I remember back to my first one and all I wanted to do was take pictures with people and , you know , get autographs and talk to people , you know , and so , um , you almost forget you're there to compete for myself and but yeah. No , it was it was awesome. And , you know , the tournament play itself , I could have done better , had better rounds. Um , but that is what it is. That's the way the , the the story falls sometimes and. Yeah , all in all , I mean , it was great weather , great people putting on the event. So it was it was awesome to be part of it again. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. Well , hearing you both talk , I mean , it sounds like it is really great to be able to go and be present in the moment and sort of take it in and enjoy. You know , that's a that's a good thing to be able to to eventually get to. Do. Um , but David like wheelchair tennis. It is an adaptive sport.

S3: So wheelchair tennis , the only difference is as far as rule change goes , is we are allowed to bounces if we want it. Um , the first bounce has to be within regulation. If you're playing singles or doubles or say serving , it has to land in the service box. But the second bounce can be anywhere. Uh , it can't bounce off the fence or off our body or anything , but it can bounce in the outside , the confines of the singles or doubles court. The second bounce , as long as the first bounce lands within the confines of your singles , doubles or service box. So outside of that , that is the only rule change for wheelchair tennis. Obviously you have to play in a wheelchair. Um , but that's just understood with the name of the sport of wheelchair tennis. Um , but but the only one changes is the two bounces. And the beauty of that. With with that is it's a very inclusive sport. So like Alyssa and I could go play each other with each other together. Singles , doubles. We can play against together any combination we want. I'm still allowed two bounces. She's only allowed one. But if we played like standing , we call it up. Down doubles. She's up , I'm down. Uh , standing , sitting right. So we can play that. And that's what just makes the wheelchair tennis sport so inclusive. Uh , same net , same court , same balls , same rackets , same. Everything is exactly the same. Minus the two bounce rule. That is the only difference. And that just makes it such an inclusive sport for the able bodied stand up game to just gel perfectly with us sitting down. And so we're really fortunate from that aspect.

S1: It was actually a spinal cord injury you were in in rehab for this injury , and that's what led you into your journey into the sport. Can you tell me a bit about that ? Yeah.

S3: So in 1995 , I had an accident in Redondo Beach. I got tossed by a wave , and I just landed wrong on the backside of the wave. And I hit my head on the ocean floor , which instantly broke my neck at sea. Five six level became instantly paralyzed. Right off the bat , I had no idea what was going on. You know , was that athlete all my life. And I just figured I had a stinger or something just wasn't right. And eventually my body would kind of wake back up and I'd shake it off and be okay. And my buddy pulled me out of the ocean. Lifeguard came stabilize my neck , and next thing I know , there's an ambulance and I'm getting rolled on a backboard. And I'm headed off to UCLA Harbor , Harborview Medical Center. And , um , as I start to learn more about disabilities and wheelchairs and spinal cord injuries and all of that , part of my rehab was to do sport again and different activities. And I actually started with ping pong , table tennis. And so that was what kind of Kickstarted me into the world of disabled sport. Was the fact that I could play ping pong with my standing buddies , and they would come up and visit me in rehab , and we would just go play at the down in the rehab facility room and play ping pong , basically. And it was really enjoyable. And that's when I really started to learn about disabled sport. Across the board there was a magazine called Sports and Spokes , which is like Sports Illustrated for disabled athletes. And that's where I learned about all the other different sports from from bass fishing to dance , wheelchair dance to basketball to rugby to tennis to track and field , you know , to every sport under the sun. And , um , just started learning and kind of like a sponge soaking it all in. And yeah , it just , uh , rekindled my love for sport , uh , immediately after being hurt , you know ? And , uh , four years after my initial accident , I found wheelchair tennis. Uh , and in 96 , I started ping pong and table tennis. So 95 to 96. I did rehab and finished , uh , learning about my new body and how it how it was to respond with my disability and spinal cord injury. And then , um , yeah , 96 got to start traveling all around the world playing ping pong. And then in 99 , hit my first tennis ball and just fell in love with the sport and couldn't get enough of it from then on.

S1:

S3: I mean , you know , I'm I'm able to play it at a high enough level to , to make a living at it. And that's pretty few and far in between , not just in the wheelchair world , but in the able bodied world to actually be able to survive and live financially off of this sport. Um , and so , yeah , I mean , it's it's kind of a dream come true , really. I mean , I've , I've traveled every continent in the United States or in the world , in the United States , in the world , basically to play. I think the only ones I haven't done is the art , you know , the antarcticus or whatever , to play there , but played on every other continent in the world. And , um , just , I just love it. I mean , I just love being part of something that transcends and is bigger than just me breaking down stereotypes and in prejudice that people might have of people with disabilities that they can't do this or they how can they do this , you know , and , and just having the opportunity to to showcase as an athlete in a wheelchair , uh , is is something that , you know , I , I have fallen in love with and , and cannot get enough of even still to this day. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. That's great. You found that this passion for it. And Alyssa , you grew up in San Diego and like , David , tried a bunch of different sports before landing on tennis.

S2: I tried a bunch of other sports when I was younger because I was just a very active kid , and my dad was very active too. So he got me into sports like soccer , which I pursued pretty competitively , um , alongside tennis. And then I chose tennis when I was like eight , 9 or 10. And for me , tennis stuck because I just really enjoyed the independent and individual aspect of the sport. I think just getting the blame , win or lose and learning from your mistakes. And I mean , obviously it's nice to have teammates , but that's why I'm going to play college tennis. But overall , the I just really love the individual , individual aspect of tennis and the one on one with the coach and , um , just the improvement and growth that you can find , like within yourself. It was just different than any of the other sports that I tried. And that's something that I really loved. And just the competition too. I loved competing and something just stuck out to me when it came to tennis. Like , I don't I think it was just the competition.

S1:

S2: But , yeah , I've learned a lot of lessons , um , on the , like , mental toughness side to never give up and cliche like , things like that. But yeah , it just helped me so much mentally going into like the real life.

S1: Yeah , it crosses into the lessons you learn in competition and on the court cross into so many other things in life. You know , in your eyes , how is the the interest and excitement for tennis among young people ? I mean , is it growing ? Yes.

S2: I think my academy at the Barnes Tennis Center , the Steve Adamson Tennis Academy , is kind of a testament to the growing excitement of young kids. And I always kind of hope and play to inspire the younger generations. Um , and I hope I've done that at the Academy at Barnes. But if you look around , there's camps from all ages clinics from all ages , ranging from like Orange ball to my level. And yeah , it's just really cool to see the progression. I think they do a really good job at Barnes with the progression from clinic to clinic , and it's kind of motivating for every kid to improve and get to the next clinic. And I think that's something that I really admire about the way that they do it at Barnes.

S3: I was just going to add on to what Alyssa said , but what's really cool about that is like , we've got wheelchair tennis programs , and so you have a list of training at the highest level that you can as an able bodied player. Right. And then you have us training in wheelchairs at the highest level we can on the courts right next to each other , you know. So it's there's no like disparity between whether you're a tennis player in a wheelchair or you're a tennis player standing. And Barnes has just been so embracing of that. And and you know , it's awesome for us to be training our butts off and look over and see Alyssa and her group working their butts off to. Right. So it's inspiring and motivating for us to see them working so hard , and for us to just use that as fuel for ourselves to is to like , remember , this is what we're all here for. This is what this environment is. And it's so just open arms and embracing there at Barnes and Steve and Ryan , their academies. And the program is just so good. So it's uh , it goes both ways , right. So we get to see them training hard and that motivates us. So we love that. Yeah.

S1: Yeah. No that's great. Well , you know I was going to say you mentioned that wheelchair tennis has recently celebrated its 20th anniversary at the US open.

S3: So we play Australian Open , Roland Garros , Wimbledon and US open on top of other ATP and WTA events around the world. So that really has helped bring a recognition to the sport and to some of these athletes. Now we're recognizable players around the world and endorsements have helped. Now come on board. So you're you're recognizable. So you're being getting a larger endorsements now which help cover costs and cover expenses of coaching and travel and physios and all of that. And then wheelchair manufacturer companies like Sunrise Medical owns RK wheelchairs , and these companies are making the lightest weight possible , wheelchairs that are so maneuverable now and , um , just with , with the flick of two , two hands on the wheel , you can go from baseline to net and lickety split time just by very lightly touching the wheels. And before , you know , back in the days when I first started even , we're we're playing in quite heavy chairs , hospital style chairs , and now we're playing in very sports specific chairs. Just like shoes , just like rackets , just like ball. Just like technology has improved in all aspects of the sport. It has also really helped us from from the wheelchair side of it , with bearings and different tyres and different chair setups , that that weren't possible because of weight and whatnot in the earlier days. So yeah , it's just , you know , having having the opportunity to be seen on a global stage has just brought a lot of , um , really good , positive , um , vibes out from people that now look for wheelchair tennis in the Grand Slams. And so it's cool to be part of something so , so big and so massive.

S1: It really is amazing what technology allows us to do and how it advances. Uh , you know , this is a question for you , Melissa. What's next ? I know you're going to be moving up to Stanford soon.

S2: I'm super excited to be moving , actually , just like in a few days. It's it's pretty nerve wracking , but mostly excitement. Um , I know I already know the team pretty well in the coaches , so that makes the transition super easy. And yeah , I just couldn't be more excited to now be part of a team. Something that I've always loved , even in junior tennis. Team events were always kind of my favorite because it's so fun to have like a team supporting you. But for in terms of my immediate goals , I would say , I mean , I'm just completely focused on college tennis right now. Um , that's the goal. I got to be there for my team. So we're gonna work to hopefully win a national championship and do whatever we need to improve on the tennis side to , um , all grow as individuals , but obviously as a team as well. And we're really reaching for that national championship this year. So really hoping for that. Um , but that comes later in the spring. So right now in the fall , it's more of an individual season. So yeah , just working on myself and seeing how , how far I can take my game. Um , but that being said , each result still impacts the team. So everything we do impacts the team and that's kind of my mindset , just trying to put my best foot forward for them. And then from like a long term goal , obviously I got a little glimpse of pro tennis , um , a few weeks ago and it was super exciting for me and really motivating. So I would love to give pro tennis a try , but I do want to finish college first and that's a priority for me. So maybe after the next four years we'll see where my game is at and we'll see. Hopefully I stay healthy and everything and I would love to give pro tennis a shot. Wow.

S1: Wow. Well , you know , congratulations to you and best of luck on freshman year and on competition that's up ahead. Thank you. Uh , David , I'll let you have the last word here.

S3: Yeah , well , what's next for me is is a little up in the air still ? You know , I I'm a more established player. Uh , I've been been on the road since 99 , 2001 basically started my my professional tour in that time frame and , um , yeah , you know , I'm not getting younger. I'm not getting , uh , able to compete at the highest level with these younger kids anymore. Um , but I still love the sport and I'm still competitive , so I don't foresee any big changes for me. Uh , I think I'm going to take the rest of the year off , maybe play one tournament up in Indian Wells. Um , just kind of just stay fresh and then reevaluate and see where I fall for the Australian Open in January and hope to maybe get in , uh , direct entry one more time to Australia and see , see how the year plays out. Uh , for me. But , um , yeah , I'm excited for Alyssa. And just to watch her career bloom and , uh , just just explode and see the good things that are going to happen for her. So I'm I'm just excited for that. And and to watch her grow as , as a , as a kid old playing , you know , beside us for years and years and years and just becoming the champion that she's become , and I'm excited for that. So I look forward to seeing that as well.

S2: So thank you David. Yeah.

S3: Yeah. Yeah. You bet.

S1: Well congratulations and best of luck to you too. I've been speaking with tennis players Alyssa on and David Wagner. Alyssa , David , thank you so much for being here.

S2: Thank you for having us.

S3: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

S1: That's our show for today.

S4: I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.