Shelby Baron

Rio blog: Doubles, Day 1

(Shelby Baron is a senior communicative disorders major and a wheelchair tennis player at UA. She has competed for the United States National Team since 2010 and will compete for the U.S. in Rio. Baron will blog about her experiences while in Rio, where the 2016 Paralympic Games are being held.)

Shelby Baron, UA senior, will compete in wheelchair tennis for the United States National Team.
Shelby Baron, UA senior, will compete in wheelchair tennis for the United States National Team.

As soon as I rolled onto the court, I immediately knew the crowd was not going to be in our favor. The stands were full, and a third of the fans were French. They had several banners and flags that encased the court. Before we even started, they screamed and blew their air horns. My partner, Emmy Kaiser, and I were definitely the underdogs as we took to the court. 

During the match, I stayed calm and tried to hold onto every bit of support from an enthusiastic Brazilian fan here and there. I got tense and we lost the first set in a tiebreak. As the time went by, more and more Americans came by. Our coaches. Our teammates. Family and friends. The crowd got larger and louder as Emmy and I started playing better. We fought for the match. After three hours and 18 minutes, we pulled through for the big W. Final score: 6-7, 7-5, 6-4. I couldn’t believe it. I won my first match at the Paralympics. I have never been prouder to wear the letters “USA” on my back.

The hard part is not over. Today I play my first round of singles against Marianna Lauro from Italy. And Sunday, we move onto the quarterfinals of doubles against the No. 1 seed from the Netherlands. I hope to keep up my intensity to provide another win for my country.

Source

Shelby Baron, student, skbaron@crimson.ua.edu