The power in those who serve: How tennis has changed veterans' lives

It can be difficult to find the right words to accurately describe the power of tennis—that singular something that we celebrate this year at this event. Capturing the unique power of this remarkable sport in simple syllables is a tough task, if only because tennis’ many benefits so overwhelmingly outnumber the available supply of adjectives and superlatives.

But faced with the ineffable, I had something of an epiphany. Perhaps defining the power of tennis is less about finding the right words than it is about finding the right people.

Scattered across the back courts of San Diego’s Balboa Tennis Club, on any given Tuesday, you’ll find the right people. People like Daniel Casera, whose dogged determination in chasing down balls is so impressive that you barely notice the braces that help support his legs. In truth, his just being here is impressive, considering the fact that in 2005, while on patrol in southern Baghdad, the armored vehicle in which he was riding rolled over an improvised explosive device, killing two of his fellow soldiers and leaving Casera with bilateral fractures to his right tibia and fibula, as well as a shattered left tibia and shattered heel and ankle bones. The Purple Heart recipient has since undergone some 26 surgeries, but thinks maybe the best medicine he’s so far found has been tennis, taken in regular doses on Tuesdays at San Diego’s Wounded Warrior Tennis Program.

“When I started, I could barely move,” says Casera. “But there was something about tennis that I immediately connected with. I’d always loved to compete, and tennis really got my competitive juices flowing again. It was a life-changer for me; it allowed me physically to be more mobile and a lot more active. 

“But even more, tennis has been therapeutic from an emotional and mental standpoint because now I’m out there each week with my fellow brothers and sisters in arms. Tennis has brought us together—all ages, all backgrounds. We have people here who are still on active duty and people who served in Vietnam. So not only is my tennis game getting better, but the sport is also providing the camaraderie that I think a lot of us miss. Tennis allows us all to be in a better place.”

In fact, tennis has helped any number of veterans find that better place, through hundreds of programs throughout the U.S. like the one in San Diego. In countless cases, tennis has proven a powerful tool, helping to rehabilitate, re-energize, and reconnect those who—for a variety of reasons—have experienced difficulty moving ahead after leaving the military behind.

So what is this awesome alchemy that occurs when those who’ve served become those who serve?