Over the weekend around 60 athletes participated in Mary Free Bed’s annual Wheelchair Tennis Tournament. The event was a way to promote adaptive athletic competition, as well as sport exposure to aspiring wheelchair athletes.
“It’s kind of cool it gets me closer to a community that without wheelchair tennis I wouldn’t be able to connect with,” Frost said.
14-year-old Xander Frost is one of the nearly 60 athletes participating in Mary Free Bed’s Wheelchair Tennis tournament. The soon to be Freshman made the drive to Grand Rapids with his family from Kalamazoo, hoping to put skills he’s been working on to the test.
“You’ve got to have a slice and spin to keep the ball in,” he said.
Frost who was born with spina bifida is a multi-sport, wheelchair athlete. He started playing tennis after watching his brother a handful of years back.
“I looked up to him in that sense and I thought ‘hey I want to do this too,’” he said.
He says this tournament is a way to sharpen his skills, hoping to make the cut for his mostly upright high school team next school year.
“Tennis is one of the few sports that you can play up down kind of why it’s the perfect sport for me,” Frost said.
This is Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital’s 24th annual wheelchair tennis tournament – something Sports Coordinator, Giovani Pantoja, says they wanted to make as inclusive as possible.
“The USTA gave scholarship money to give to players to offset travel expenses, cost for food, etc.” Pantoja said.
As Frost takes to the court, he say he’s grateful for the experience.