USA TAP OPEN was the first International Adaptive Standing Tennis tournament to take place in the United States in American history.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
The inaugural tournament was held in Houston, Texas in 2016 and organized by Cindy Benzon, Jeff Bourns, Harold Graham, Enzo Amadei Jerez, and Ana Maria Rodriguez with support from the United States Tennis Association of Texas, the Houston Tennis Association, Tennis Express, and Houston's Memorial Hermann Hospital. 28 players from 11 different countries came to participate in the inaugural tournament.[8][9] 1987 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee Dennis Ralston served as tournament ambassador.[10] The tournament served as the adaptive standing tennis world championships from 2016 to 2019 before being interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
The USA TAP OPEN is part of an international tennis circuit, the TAP World Tour. The TAP World Tour was the first International circuit for professional standing adaptive tennis players.[12][13][14] The tour was founded by Enzo Amadei and Ana Maria Rodriguez of Santiago, Chile.[15] The United States, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Dominican Republic all have players who have competed on the tour.
The USA TAP Open helped cultivate and grow adaptive standing tennis programing and more organized tournaments in the United States and across the world.[16][17][18][19][20][21]
References
edit- ^ "Amputee Eyes Recognition for Adaptive Tennis". Houston Chronicle. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2022 – via PressReader.
- ^ "'If I'm an inspiration because I refuse to quit – I'm happy with that' – Jeff Bourns". babolat.com. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ "USA TAP OPEN". Inside Tennis Magazine. January 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "ADAPTIVE STANDING TENNIS: A New Way to Play". United States Tennis Association National. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "Adaptive Stand-up Tennis Comes to Texas". The O&P EDGE Magazine. 2017-02-01. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ "Houston Tournament Shows Off New Form Of Adaptive Tennis". Athletes Roll. 2017-01-24. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ Garofalo, Suzanne (2018-09-09). "Clear Lake amputee tennis pro Jeff Bourns pushing for recognition of adaptive sport". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
- ^ "USTA Texas, the Texas Tennis & Education Foundation and the TAP Foundation present USA TAP World Championships". CultureMap Houston. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ "Stand Up Tennis Empowers". Tennis Now. Retrieved 25 June 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ "In Memoriam: Hall of Famer Dennis Ralston". usta.com. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ "TAP USA TOUR Championships 2017". usta.com. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ "TAPWORLDTOUR". tapworldtour.com. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ "Free Fitness Prosthetic Leg for Special Olympics Amputee Tennis Player from St. Kitts and Nevis". SpecialOlympics.org. 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ "Strong Showing from Midwest Players at USA TAP Open". usta.com. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ "Returning to Tennis after Amputation". usta.com. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ "JASTA". JASTA. 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- ^ "CAST-Carolinas Adaptive Standing Tennis". GRETA. 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "Greensboro Hosts First Standing Adaptive Tennis Tournament in North Carolina". YES! Weekly (Press release). Retrieved 2022-03-18.
- ^ "A Grugliasco il 1° Training Camp di adaptive standing tennis organizzato in Italia" (in Italian). Associazione Volonwrite. 2022-01-20. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ "Midwest Adaptive Tennis at the Western & Southern Open". usta.com. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ "San Antonio Amputees Stay Active, Competitive on Tennis Court". San Antonio Report. 2018-04-26. Retrieved 2022-03-19.