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 with national and former Paralympic coaches from Team USA. U. S. It gave her the confidence and excitement that ultimately propelled her into competitive play.
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, You have been Earning The Same Point of respect for her-bodied counterparts. athletes with A Disability Like Dana do not get the popularity they deserve for their Skillability and Hard Work. Games Means to Be parallel to the Olympic Games, “Dana Explained. ” A Lot of Other Folks Think ‘for’ Means Paraplegic, Which is understhable, Yet That simply is not the case. ” It is very important to provide adaptive athletes with the same respect and understanding as healthy athletes, since they exercise equally hard, adhere to similar diets and exercise both in the gym.
A moment of immense gratitude and achievement for Dana came here at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, where she won the doubles name with Yui Kamiji. As a loser, Dana faced an uphill war in terms of ranking of the ranking of the ranking of an undeniable goal: to play well. Reach. dana and Yui won the name 6-1, 7-5, beating the highly ranked doubles team of Diede de Groot and Aniek Van Koot. Reflecting on the 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 the main name, especially in doubles, 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 is focusing on her procedure than on the result. “Anyone can say that he needs a gold medal; of course, we all need it, and I am not an exception. I need it to be an exception of the true one that feels more than anything, just to be a good creation of the creation of real and important goods. The great and important, since those attainable objectives are more productive for her as a athlete. Before her parties, he remembers herself” compete well, to have confidence. competitive, now focuses on the game that just win. ” Playing well is a victory, “he says. If I leave and run a shot 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.