How Wheelchair Technology Transformed Play

Andy Roddick kicks off this episode with a Racket Rundown presented by Wilson to talk about Coco Gauff's victory over Jessica Pegula in the 2025 Wuhan Open. He also talks about the 2025 Shanghai Rolex Masters results where Valentin Vacherot (World No. 204) defeated first cousin Arthur Rinderknech for the title.

Andy then sits down with International Tennis Hall of Famer Rick Draney, a pioneer of wheelchair tennis and Tennis Hall of Famer. Rick shares how a life-changing injury led him to redefine what was possible from inventing new grip techniques to shaping the classification system that made the quad division official. He and Andy dive deep into the evolution of wheelchair technology, the rise of global stars like Shingo Kunieda, Esther Vergeer, and Tokito Oda, and the growing junior pipeline that’s transforming the sport.

COMMENT BELOW

How can tennis continue to expand opportunities for adaptive athletes?

Who is the greatest wheelchair tennis player of all time? 

📩 Sign up for the 5 Setter Newsletter here: https://servedmedia.substack.com/

Check out some Served Merch: https://store.servedpodcast.com/

🎾 Join the Served Chucker's Club for Exclusive Perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0k_--YLuTNuDvq1Dw4zHmw/join

📱If you're new to the Served with Andy Roddick, we're happy you're here! Follow us for more:

https://www.instagram.com/servedpodcast/

https://bsky.app/profile/servedpodcast.bsky.social

https://www.tiktok.com/@served_podcast

1:13 Welcome to Served

2:53 Racket Rundown: Coco Gauff in Wuhan & Vacherot’s Cinderella run  

18:00 Introducing Rick Draney: Hall of Fame wheelchair tennis legend  

19:29 Rick’s story & early injury  

23:29 Discovering wheelchair tennis & learning to play  

26:07 Quad vs Para classification explained  

34:00 Rick’s gold medal in rugby & Paralympic background  

37:04 Legends of the game: Esther Vergeer, Shingo Kunieda, Tokito Oda  

38:50 Learning mobility & racket adaptations post-injury  

45:04 The two-bounce rule and strategy evolution  

49:00 One-bounce strategy: Shingo’s impact  

52:12 Early training vs modern high-performance wheelchair tennis  

59:55 Junior wheelchair tennis & collegiate pathway development  

1:09:02 Wheelchair technology evolution

1:15:15 Travel logistics, equipment damage, and costs  

1:23:01 Philanthropy & supporting junior players (chairs & programs)  

1:25:15 Tires, surfaces, and equipment wear  

1:30:26 Equipment timeouts & match incidents  

1:31:08 Wheelchair tennis legends deep dive

1:43:00 Esther Vergeer’s legendary streak & statistical greatness  

1:47:02 Rick reflects on 50 years of wheelchair tennis & personal journey  

1:50:22 Closing thoughts and gratitude

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices