On the Road Again: Traveling With a disability for a Wheelchair Tennis Tournament

I love traveling for tennis tournaments. It's my chance to compete, gain more match experience, track my progress as an athlete, reconnect with familiar faces, and meet new people in the community. Traveling also allows me to explore new cities. This year, I competed in 13 tournaments across various states in the U.S. and provinces in Canada. However, traveling with a disability—especially with luggage, a tennis chair, equipment, and a personal wheelchair—can be challenging and stressful. Reaching my destination often feels like a journey in itself.

To make the process smoother, preparation is key. Booking the right hotel room, packing efficiently, and mentally preparing for potential obstacles can transform a stressful trip into a more seamless experience. Over the years, I’ve learned several strategies for successful travel. While this post focuses on traveling for tennis tournaments, these tips can apply to any trip for those traveling with a disability.

Booking the Right Accommodation

Tournament organizers typically designate one or more hotels with discounted rates for players, often located near the venue and with transportation options. However, it’s usually the player’s responsibility to book the hotel and communicate transportation needs.

Accessibility

Accessible rooms are limited at most hotels, and when many attendees are disabled, availability becomes even more competitive. Thankfully, many individuals with higher levels of mobility are considerate enough to book standard rooms, leaving accessible rooms for those who need them most.

Types of Accessible Rooms

Hotels typically offer two types of accessible rooms:

1. Mobility Accessible Rooms: Designed for those with physical disabilities, these rooms feature grab bars, wider doorways, and either a bathtub or a roll-in shower. I prefer roll-in showers as they make transferring to a shower chair much easier.
   

2. Hearing/Communication Accessible Rooms: Equipped for individuals with hearing disabilities, these rooms include features like visual alarms, closed-caption TVs, and visual door-knock alerts.
   

Follow Up with the Hotel

After booking, always confirm your reservation by calling the hotel to ensure your requested room type will be available upon arrival. Despite confirmation, issues can still arise, such as design flaws or room unavailability. To mitigate this, I travel with my own portable shower chair, which I can easily assemble and use if the hotel’s accommodations fall short.

Packing

Packing is critical for a successful trip, especially when competing in tournaments. Here are some tips:

Overpack

While opinions vary, I always pack extra clothes and medical supplies. Emergencies or delays can happen, so having a buffer can prevent unnecessary stress.

Manageable Luggage

Choose luggage you can handle independently. Airports offer assistance, but I prefer being self-reliant to avoid delays or reliance on others. I typically stack my duffel bag, wheel bag, and tennis bag onto my tennis chair for easy transport. I also have a backpack, which I carry at all times on the back of my chair and a smaller pouch underneath my wheelchair seat. Everyone has their own system that works well for them and I was able to find something that works for me!

Tools and Equipment

For wheelchair users or those traveling with adaptive equipment, packing tools and small replacement parts is essential. Nowadays, we all worry about if our luggage, including our wheelchairs, will get to our destination without getting damaged so would be good to be peropared. For tennis tournaments, I bring extra rackets, straps, and tire tubes to address any potential issues.

Transporting Your Wheelchair and Gear

Traveling with a wheelchair and sports equipment requires extra planning but is manageable with the right preparation.

Flying with a Wheelchair

When flying, you can either gate-check your sports chair or check it at the counter. While gate-checking may reduce the risk of damage, I find it cumbersome to push a chair across large airports, especially on carpeted areas. For many years, I used to always gate check my tennis chair until 3 years ago. I realized it was just too much to have lug around the chair, especially if I had to go across the airport, some of which involves pushing on carpet, which is not fun! I now check my tennis chair at the counter, securing it with a wheel bag and protective coverings like tennis balls over the axle holes. Others have different ways to protect their chair, from putting foam around different parts of the chair to having a box to put the chair into for it to be more secure. I also check in my main duffel bag and sometimes my tennis bag, as it is one less thing to carry around to get to the gate.

Going Through Security

TSA Pre-check significantly simplifies security procedures for wheelchair users. Without it, you’d likely face a full body pat-down and extensive chair inspections, which can feel invasive and inhumane. Before I had Pre-Check, I would have experiences where the supervisor is watching over their employee who is nervous and would pat me down multiples times to make sure he is showing his boss that he is doing it correctly... With Pre-check, the process involves a quick hand scan and chair swab, reducing wait times and discomfort.

Boarding the Plane

Boarding early is crucial for wheelchair users, as transferring to an aisle chair before other passengers board is less stressful and less awkward. When I get to the gate, I like to go to the counter there and have them tag my personal wheelchair with the gate check tag to arrive at the gate at my destination, regardless if it is a connection or non-stop flight. Typically, I am there early so have to wait until an airline worker shows up at the desk. Once on the plane, I can relax momentarily, though I always worry about my wheelchair arriving intact. Unfortunately, it is something those with wheelchairs or adaptive equipment have to worry about as there have been plenty of stories of people's chairs getting damaged, which is disappointing and is a major problem that needs to be fixed. One huge step towards helping solve this issues is that American Airlines was recently fined $50 million by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for violating the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and mistreating passengers with disabilities, finally holding these companies accountable for not being inclusive and treating those with disabilities the right way.

Arriving at Your Destination

After landing, there’s still work to be done before reaching your hotel.

Getting off the Plane

Exiting the plane can take 20-30 minutes or more, as aisle chairs are only brought on after other passengers have disembarked. Half the time the workers are late to bring the aisle chair so I would have to wait even longer after the plane is cleared. The wait can feel helpless, but it’s part of the process, which is "first one on and last one off," when it comes to boarding and getting off the plane.

Retrieving Wheelchairs and Luggage

At baggage claim, I retrieve my tennis chair and luggage, hoping everything arrives undamaged. My system for transporting luggage—stacking it on my tennis chair—makes navigating the airport easier.

Finding Transportation

Tournament organizers typically arrange accessible transportation to the hotel. Sometimes there’s a wait if they’re coordinating pickups for multiple players. If necessary, accessible taxis or rideshare services like Uber and Lyft may also be available.

Final Thoughts

Traveling with a disability, especially for wheelchair tennis tournaments, requires meticulous planning and adaptability. While challenges may arise, preparation can make the experience more manageable and enjoyable. From packing to navigating airports, these strategies ensure I arrive ready to compete. In a future post, I’ll discuss tournament preparation and the factors that affect performance, such as weather and match schedules.