Sportable Hosts CarMax Juniors Wheelchair Tennis Camp

Sportable, Central Virginia’s premier adaptive sports club, is proud to host the CarMax Juniors Wheelchair Tennis Camp June 11-12, 2022 in Richmond, VA. The elite camp for wheelchair tennis players of all levels ages 5-18 will take place at the state-of-the-art Williams Bolletieri Tennis Center on Collegiate School’s Robins Campus during the River City Slam. Registration is available now at Sportable.org.

“CarMax has fueled Sportable’s youth adaptive sports programs for the last 10 years and we are thrilled to have their support throughout the River City Slam,” commented Hunter Leemon, Sportable Executive Director. “The CarMax Juniors Wheelchair Tennis Camp is an incredible opportunity for youth athletes to learn from some of the best players and coaches in the country. We are grateful for CarMax’s support to create a top-class environment for youth wheelchair tennis players from coast to coast.”

“We are honored to be the lead sponsor of the CarMax Juniors Wheelchair Tennis Camp and continue our longtime support of Sportable’s mission,” said Leslie Parpart, Director of Community Relations at CarMax. “We look forward to welcoming participants to our hometown and cheering them on throughout the weekend.”

The CarMax Juniors Wheelchair Tennis Camp will be led by Gabby Hesse, Head of Wheelchair and Adaptive Tennis at the renowned Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC) in College Park, MD and Taylor Wingate, USTA Division A wheelchair tennis player and USTA Net Generation Ambassador. With an emphasis on fun, the camp will focus on teamwork and individual skill development for all youth players from beginners to aspiring Paralympians.

The River City Slam CarMax Juniors Division is designated as one of only six USTA Wheelchair Junior Tournament Series in the country. The USTA Wheelchair Junior Tournament Series is a group of nationally-ranked tournaments focused on providing level-based play opportunities for junior wheelchair players. Boasting one of the largest flights of juniors players of any tournament in the U.S., the River City Slam will feature 14 players from coast to coast. U.S. Junior National Team players Gaila Fosbinder (ITF Female Wheelchair Tennis Junior of the Year, Charlotte, NC) and Maximus Wong (Flushing, NY) are slated to appear.

One of the fastest growing wheelchair sports in the world, wheelchair tennis is played on a standard tennis court in the same way as able-bodied tennis, with the only exception being that a wheelchair tennis player is allowed two bounces of the ball. The athlete’s wheelchair is considered to be a part of the body, so rules applying to the player’s body apply to the chair as well. Wheelchair tennis has been part of the Paralympic Games since 1992 and has been played at all four Grand Slams since 2007.