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St. Henry graduate among wheelchair tennis players competing in Paralympics this week in Tokyo


By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

St. Henry High School graduate Emmy Kaiser is one of three United States women’s wheelchair tennis players scheduled to compete in the Paralympics that began Tuesday in Tokyo.

This is the third time that Kaiser, 31, has qualified for the worldwide games for impaired athletes that take place after the Olympics. She played singles and doubles at the 2012 Paralympics in London and the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.

Emmy Kaiser

According to Paralympics brackets posted online, Kaiser’s first singles match this week will be against Jimlian Huang of China, but the day and time had not been set. Kaiser is not listed in the doubles bracket.

Born with spina bifida, Kaiser began playing wheelchair tennis as a child. She started competing on the international wheelchair tour in 2004 and was a member of the U.S. World Cup Team from 2009-2016.

In the latest International Tennis Foundation world tour rankings, Kaiser was 27th in singles and 28th in doubles based on points awarded in wheelchair matches this year.

Kaiser won a gold medal in doubles and silver medal in singles at the 2011 ParaPan American Games in Mexico. One year later, she made it to the round of 16 in both singles and doubles at the 2012 Paralympics in London. At the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, she made it to the round of 16 in singles and lost her first match in doubles.

After graduating from Thomas More College in 2011, Kaiser earned a master’s degree in sport and exercise psychology from Ball State University in Indiana. She coaches both wheelchair and able-bodied tennis players at Blue Ash Recreation Center in Ohio and with the Cincinnati Tennis Foundation. She has also worked as a substitute teacher at St. Henry.

 


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