Sabina Czauz: Northglenn’s Tennis Trailblazer

There’s something special going on in the Northglenn girls tennis program and that something special is Sabina Czauz.

The junior is the first female wheelchair player to play varsity high school tennis in Colorado, and she’s doing some pretty incredible things in terms of being a pioneer in her sport.

“For me, it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal,” Czauz said. “At least in Colorado, I’m the first girl to play on a high school team. It just hasn’t been that popular here in Colorado. I’m just trying to bring light to the idea that just because you’re in a wheelchair, doesn’t mean you can’t do anything. Wheelchair tennis wasn’t something I even knew about until I started playing. But now I love it and I just want to show people that anyone can do stuff like this.”

Czauz isn’t just on the Northglenn team, either. She’s been a critical part of it for several years now.

This season, Czauz, who takes classes online, is playing No. 3 singles for Northglenn. At the wheelchair tennis national level, the 17-year-old is ranked seventh in the girls division and 83rd in the women’s division.

Czauz has also been to the US Open Wheelchair Championships in each of the past two years. Her first time, she competed while filling in for another player who was unable to attend. This past year, Czauz officially qualified in the top eight nationally on her own. She lost in three sets in the first round of the junior girls wheelchair singles bracket, and finished runner-up – with partner Yuma Takamuro – in the junior girls wheelchair doubles division.

“Both times, it was just amazing to be here and experience what all of the pros do and all that,” said Czauz, who entered the tournament ranked seventh as an amateur. “The first time, I was a wildcard and filled in for another player who couldn’t make it for some reason. I got called up the day before and asked if I could make it, so I was just soaking it all in.

“The second time, I actually earned my spot, getting ranked in. So that time, I was there more to play than just to be there. I felt like I could actually win it if I played well.”

As the sport’s popularity continues to rise, Czauz took a roundabout way to find wheelchair tennis.

Once a wheelchair basketball player, Czauz was unable to play that sport when basketball was mostly shut down during the pandemic. But tennis was more accessible due to the sport’s inherent social distancing. A teammate from basketball invited her to a wheelchair tennis practice where he played and she eventually fell in love with it. She and her mother, Joanna, credit the support of her club coach Kendall Chitambar and the community at Rocky Mountain Tennis Center helping get Czauz to where she is now.

Now in her third season playing for Northglenn, Czauz is enjoying the high school experience with her teammates and new coach.

“She fits in really well,” first-year Northglenn head coach Glen Bailis said. “This is my first year coaching and as a first-year coach I wasn’t sure what to expect because I’ve never coached anybody in a wheelchair. But she’s really self-motivated and self-directed, so she doesn’t really need much coaching. She’s very agile and she can hit the ball hard, and it’s really impressive how athletic she is and what a good tennis player she is.”

Wheelchair tennis players use specifically-designed, lighter wheelchairs that, instead of having four wheels, have five including one in the back that keeps the chair upright. Many have slight adjustments to match their user, and all include straps that keep the player from falling out of the chair during play.

In wheelchair tennis, the game – scoring, rules, lines, rackets, etc. – is essentially the same. The only difference between wheelchair tennis and regular tennis is that wheelchair players have two bounces before they have to return the ball instead of one.

During high school play against an able-bodied opponent, Czauz plays by wheelchair tennis rules (two bounces) and her opponent plays by traditional rules and has one bounce to return the ball.

Czauz has already accomplished a lot in the realms of wheelchair and high school tennis and she doesn’t plan to stop pushing herself and her sport to greater heights. With that in mind, she hopes to go to the Colorado state championships with her team before graduating and one day qualify for the Paralympic Games.