Video: Max Wong Thriving at Commonpoint Tennis and Beyond!
Max developed typically as an infant and toddler, meeting all milestones for crawling, walking, running and jumping. However, at 2 ½ years old, an MRI revealed a spinal cord tumor and an emergency laminectomy was performed. Following the surgery, he was paralyzed from the waist down.
After years of therapy and hard work, Max was fortunate enough to experience significant gains in his recovery. While a manual wheelchair is his main source of mobility, he is able to ambulate with AFO leg braces and crutches. In addition to therapy, adaptive sports played an enormous role in Max’s recovery.
As a young, rambunctious child, he needed an outlet for his boundless energy. Max has played sled hockey, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair racing. However, his favorite sport is wheelchair tennis – where he is a super star!
Max’s journey began at the USTA National Tennis Center in 2016, where he attended weekly wheelchair tennis clinics and eventually private lessons with Commonpoint Tennis and Athletic Center Coach Aki Wolfson, who has been instrumental in developing his abilities. Since then he’s competed at the highest level, met some of Tennis’s biggest stars, has traveled abroad to play Tennis in Europe, and most recently, worked as a counselor at Commonpoint’s Tennis Camp.
Special thanks to Max and the Wong family for sharing their story with us, and for inspiring people of all ages and abilities to chase their dreams.
