Dana Mathewson, the most sensible wheelchair tennis player on Team USA from San Diego, California, is getting ready to constitute her country at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. Ranked No. 1 in the U. S. , No. 8 across the global in doubles and No. nine in singles, Dana has made a mark on the global level with standout performances. His impressive career includes the 2023 Pan American Santiago Games in singles and doubles gold Medalist, U. S. quarterfinals in 2017, and the Wimbledon Double Championship in 2022. Having been a key player in the World Cup squad from 200nine to 2011 and 2015-2022, Dana is a leading force in wheelchair tennis.
Dana was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, transverse myelitis, at the age of 10, which led her to use a wheelchair for mobility. While in the hospital, her mother took it upon herself to explore adaptive sports that Dana could try.
At age 13, Dana attended her first tennis camp in Coronado, California, near her hometown of San Diego. There he met national coaches and former Paralympians from the U. S. team. Meeting them was a turning point for Dana, as she began to see them as models, illustrating what she can get from tennis. Before attending the clinic, she had never noticed or heard of wheelchair tennis, however, the delight gave her the confidence and excitement that nonetheless propelled her into a competitive game.
As Dana approached school age, she was recruited through the University of Arizona, where she competed and honed her skills. With that of her coaches and mother, who identified her perspective to excel even at the top levels, Dana made the step to the professional scene.
Dana’s mother has been her biggest advocate and a key explanation for her good fortune, whether in tennis and in life. Recording her mother’s role in shaping her trip, Dana shared, “She never let my disability describe me. He responded in surprise, asking, “Are you serious?” His mother replied, “Yes, your arms are still working. He’s going to empty the dishwasher. ” Dana now sees this motherhood as critical, knowing that even though she had a disability, it didn’t mean she wasn’t incapable. This mindset, instilled through her mother, shaped Dana’s attitude and prepared her for good fortune and as a professional athlete.
A significant obstacle for all tennis players, whether adaptive and uncapable, is the monetary burden of supporting a professional career. While top-ranked athletes may perform well, many others struggle to do as much as they spend. Coach prices and other expenses are high. For Dana, it was a complicated burden to succeed when she began her professional career. With remote and demands significant sacrifices, adding time away from those enjoyed. Their source of income depends largely on daily performance.
Another challenge for Dana and adaptive athletes like her, has been earning the same point of respect as her able-bodied counterparts. Athletes with a disability like Dana do not get the popularity they deserve for their skillability and hard work. ” Most other folks do not know that the word Games means to be parallel to the Olympic Games,” Dana explained. ” A lot of other folks think ‘para’ means paraplegic, which is understandable, yet that is simply not the case. “It is very important to give adaptive athletes the same respect and understanding as healthy athletes, as they exercise just as hard, adhere to similar diets, and exercise as much in the gym.
A moment of immense gratitude and achievement for Dana occurred at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, where she won the double name with Yui Kamiji. As an oppressed, Dana faced a difficult war in terms of ranking. She entered the adjustment with an undeniable objective: to play well. After winning the first set 6-1, Dana began to feel a sense of pride and excitement, knowing that the name was at hand. Dana and Yui won the name 6-1, 7-5, beating the highly ranked duplicate team of Diede de Groot and Aniek Van Koot. Thinking back to that moment, Dana said, “I didn’t know when we won that I would be the first American wheelchair tennis player to win a primary. “Winning a leading name, especially double the one, is something special for Dana.
In 2023, Santiago for Pan American Games, Dana was selected to be the popular carrier of the US team, a role that described as “one of the most great things and the greatest honors” of his life. Having lost in the past at the Pan American Games in 2019, Dana decided to obtain a greater result in Santiago. In the last game, Dana faced a formidable opponent in the Colombian Angélica Bernal. Pushing the game, Dana gave everything, winning the name 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. Subsequently, it fell into tears of joy, detecting the scope of the demanding situations that had triumphed to succeed at this point.
At the end of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Dana focuses on his procedure than the result. “Everyone can say that he needs a gold medal; of course, we all need it, and I am not an exception. I need to be on the podium. But I think more than anything, I just need to compete. When I rival, intelligent things are sometimes happening,” Dana said. He is preparing for intelligent fortune through the creation of small realistic objectives than giants and highs, because those attainable objectives are more productive for it as anxhalet. Before her games, she remembers “competing well, having confidence, be brave. ” Although Dana appreciates the competitive results, he now focuses on the game that in the undeniable victory. “Playing well is a victory,” she says. “If I present myself and take a photo as planned, it is a victory. “
Dana emphasizes hard work, loving the game and maintaining her own definition of success, instead of exhausting her trust only with victories and losses. In general, athletes are judged hard for their performance, and tension can have consequences for consistency and quality. In particular, in American culture, the mentality of running hard and of being as productive as imaginable at any time occasionally neglects the importance of rest and success of self -assessment. Dana illustrates a professional athlete who has selected to dictate her own path for superior performance, decorate rest and describe the achievements according to their own conditions.
In the Paralympic Games of Paris 2024, Dana is proud of the opportunity to establish the United States team and hopes to raise awareness about wheelchair tennis, and all adaptive athletes deserve the same attention and the same as their valid counterparts. “I am an athlete, one of the same things that someone who plays tennis on his feet. He looks different, of course, but once you look at him, the strategy is almost identical, and the regulations are the same. ” Dana expects to be an ambassador of wheelchair tennis, prioritizing respect and equity so that long -term athlete generations obtain the same popularity as valid athletes. “I have noticed the emotion of tennis in a wheelchair worldwide. I hope that the next 2028 is a catalyst for change, and we will see more emotion for the American team in the Paralympic Games. The US team. UU. It is the US team.