In 2001, Raquel Godin contracted bacterial meningitis and had less than a 10% chance of living. She survived but her legs had to be amputated and most of her fingers were either partially or fully amputated.
Today, the 49-year-old Gaithersburg resident tries to help other amputees adjust. Godin works as an amputee care coordinator with Hanger Clinic, a Washington, D.C.-based orthopedic rehabilitation center that co-sponsored Montgomery County’s first para-standing tennis clinic on Sunday at Rockville’s Georgetown Prep Tennis Club. She joined 15 other para-athletes who attended the pop-up clinic, and each had a volunteer helping develop their tennis skills. According to paralympic.org, there are eligibility requirements for para-athletes, including visual, intellectual and muscle power impairments, as well as limb deficiency. Godin wants to encourage others who have experienced profound challenges.
“These events show there is so much life after limb loss,” she said. “You don’t know until you try it.”
The event was also organized and sponsored by Chevy Chase siblings Bodi De, 16, and Maya, 18, founders of Adaptive Tennis DMV, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting and growing the para-standing tennis community. The two tennis enthusiasts are trained by College Park-based Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC), which also sponsored the free event. They learned about para-standing athletes by volunteering with JTCC’s adaptive tennis events. As a result, the siblings started Adaptive Tennis DMV in 2023 to share information, promote volunteerism and partner with local organizations to provide opportunities in adaptive tennis.
“[The clinic] is giving more people a new community and love for tennis,” said Maya, a senior at Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C. “It’s been incredible to watch the players grow and develop and become more confident on the court.”
Adaptive Tennis DMV also provides players with such resources as court time, one-on-one practice, specially designed para-standing athletic equipment, competitive para-standing tournaments and a sense of community.
Sunday’s clinic highlighted an emerging sport designed for those with physical disabilities who prefer to play standing rather than playing in a wheelchair. Tennis players with ambulatory disabilities are currently excluded from mainstream competition, including the Paralympics, according to parastandingtennis.com.
“It’s a very fun and rewarding position to be in, helping these players with their journeys,” Bodi said. Both he and his sister worked one-on-one with para-athletes during Sunday’s clinic.
Advocates say para-standing tennis is an important next phase in expanding the tennis community and making the sport more inclusive and diverse.
“Not a lot of people are aware that there is even an aspect of para-standing tennis—it’s always been able-bodied tennis or wheelchair tennis,” said Karl Lee, JTCC coach. “Through events like the clinic, we can actually show para-standing players what is possible, regardless of their prior tennis background.”
The tennis clinic was open to anyone wishing to participate. Future pop-up clinics in the DMV are expected later this year as part of an ongoing series focused on growing the community of para-standing players.
“We saw the need and decided to take the leap and kind of create what we call an adaptive sports program and turn it into something new,” said DJ Hughes, a prosthetist/orthotist assistant and certified athletic trainer from the Hanger Clinic. “Being able to have that outlet or resource for anybody is extremely important.”
The sport has been gaining attention and many believe that para-standing tennis deserves the same status as other sports that are already recognized in standing categories at the Paralympics, including table tennis and badminton. Individuals with amputations, stroke, multiple sclerosis, birth defects and cerebral palsy are welcome to participate in para-standing tennis events. The sport is supported by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and national governing bodies, with approximately 400 players from 31 countries, according to parastandingtennis.com.
In August 2023, the U.S. Open hosted its first exhibition match with para-standing players. UK native Nicky Maxwell, 27, who attended Sunday’s clinic in Rockville, was one of the athletes who competed at the U.S. Open exhibition match. Now living in Washington, D.C., he believes para-standing sports can open new doors for potential athletes. He admits that, although he’s been a competitive athlete his whole life, even he knew nothing of the sport.
“I was completely unaware that para-standing tennis existed until about 18 months ago—just think how many more people that are out that who have no idea,” Maxwell said. “There’s an entire organized discipline out there for them that could really change the way they look at tennis.”
Maxwell hopes the combined efforts of JTCC, the Hanger Clinic and Adaptive Tennis DMV build the para-standing tennis community.
“We’re trying to grow this—we just had our para-standing tournament here at JTCC—it’s only the fourth in the nation and we had players from as far away as Santiago, Chile,” said Lee. “Our core message would be: Realize your potential, no matter your condition.”