Fredericton hosts international wheelchair tennis open in hopes of generating local interest | CBC News

Natalia Lanucha rolls onto the court, racket in hand, and stares down her opponent. 

With a quick and precise serve, the match immediately heats up. She jets across the court to meet the returned ball seconds later.

Originally from Poland, the Montreal woman has travelled to Fredericton to take part in an international wheelchair tennis tournament.

“I always wanted to do a sport, but I didn’t know what to do, or if I could do a wheelchair sport because I can’t walk,” Lanucha said.

New Brunswick is trying to grow the sport. There are no hometown competitors in the tournament.

“Wheelchair tennis is in its infancy stage,” said Mark Thibault, executive director of Tennis N.B. and tournament organizer.

“We have some recreational programs around the province, but we really don’t have anything at a competitive level.”

He said the hope was to showcase the sport with this weekend’s event so people in New Brunswick could see what it looks like and how it works.

“And maybe we can encourage some of the wheelchair athletes from other sports to consider playing a little tennis as well,” Thibault said

Lanucha saw a Facebook post seven years ago about a wheelchair tennis group in Montreal, and gave them a call. 

“And since then, I play every day, I love it.”

She enjoys the mental and physical challenges of the sport.

The athletes in Fredericton to compete gave their all on the court. But once the match was over, smiles broke out and the sidelines were full of laughter and camaraderie.

“It’s a pretty small world, all of us basically know each other here.… We see each other all the time,” said Jason Keatseangsilp of Arizona.

He started playing tennis as a child. But after a spinal cord injury at 17, he was determined to return to the court. 

He’s been playing internationally for five years.

Thanks to wheelchair tennis, he’s been to Romania and has a good friend in Ireland.

“I think through wheelchair tennis I’ve probably added over 100, 150 people on Instagram and Facebook,” Keatseangsilp said with a grin.

He added that it’s a welcoming community, and spoke about how even the wheelchairs themselves are customized to each player, set up “according to your body measurements, your disability, your play style.”

The angled wheels help, too. “That’s how we’re able to move pretty fast and turn quite easily compared to our everyday wheelchairs,” Keatseangsilp said.

For Lanucha, she enjoys how much the sport allows for physical mobility, but also has a mental component.

“It’s a lot of difficulty, but I like it,” Lanucha said.

Her world now revolves around her beloved sport, and she said she’s only home for a week or two at most before travelling to the next tournament.

She wishes more people with disabilities would consider taking to the court.

“They should try to do it, even for people who think they can’t because they have some disability. No, just try it,” Lanucha said.