This adaptive program makes ‘blind tennis’ available to the visually impaired in Middle Georgia

On a slow Thursday morning, an unusually quiet game of tennis is unfolding inside the gym at the Georgia Academy for the Blind.

Rather than applause echoing off the brick walls of the gym, the only sounds are the balls padding and jingling against the floor, and the occasional words of encouragement from their coach.

It’s a type of adaptive tennis made especially for people who are visually impaired, and Macon-Bibb County and the Georgia Academy for the Blind are helping bring it to Middle Georgia.

“I think this is really cool because we are teaching kids … they’ll have a sport they can do the rest of their lives,” said Robin Bateman, the creator of the program and a facilities coordinator with the Macon-Bibb County Parks and Recreation Department’s tennis division.

A different kind of tennis

Adaptive tennis is a form of tennis that is made to accommodate players with disabilities. Bateman said it can come in many forms and serve a wide range of disabilities.

Adaptive tennis for people with visual impairments is primarily played through listening and feeling. The balls are covered in sponge and filled with jingle bells so players can hear them moving through the air, and lines on the court are marked with a thick rubber material or tape with rope underneath to allow players to feel where they are on the court with their feet.

“They listen, so when they’re actually playing you have to be quiet so they can hear,” Bateman said. “Sometimes we need to keep reminding everybody that you need to quiet down.”

Bateman, herself visually impaired, grew up playing tennis with her twin sister. She learned to play the sport as a child with a coach who would throw the ball and tell her where to move on the court.

“I was just addicted to playing tennis,” Bateman said.

She learned about the opportunity to bring adaptive tennis — or “blind tennis,” as she sometimes calls it — to Macon in 2023. Bateman heard the United States Tennis Association, the national governing body for Tennis in the U.S., was visiting the city in August of that year to hold a workshop teaching students, teachers and coaches how to play adaptive tennis for the visually impaired.

Bateman saw the workshop in action and presented the idea of expanding on blind tennis in Macon to the Macon-Bibb County Parks and Recreation Department.

“When we did the workshop — because I work for the parks and rec’s tennis division — I was like, ‘We have to do this program,’” Bateman said.

The department was eager to support her. The county held a meeting with the Georgia Academy for the Blind, and about six months after the workshop, in early 2024, they launched a pilot program transporting middle- and high school-aged students from the school to the county’s Randy Stephens Tennis Center to learn how to play adaptive tennis with volunteer coaches and staff.

Charles Relyea, a student at Georgia Academy for the Blind who participated in the program, said he enjoys participating in sports, and having the chance to participate in adaptive tennis opened new doors for him.

“I’ve always wanted to play lots of sports because I see other people doing them,” Relyea said. “I thought, ‘You know, just because I can’t see doesn’t mean I can’t do that.’”

Joshua Mays, another student at the school, said that when he was initially approached about being a part of the program, he was surprised because he never thought he’d be able to play a sport like tennis.

“One day we came to do something called adaptive tennis, which normally for me would be impossible because seeing something move through the air is very hard for me,” Mays said. “But being able to hear the ball and try something new was a big change.”

Growing the game

After the success of the pilot program, Macon-Bibb County and the Georgia Academy for the Blind brought adaptive tennis on as a full program that Bateman hopes will stick around for years to come.

USTA has also taken notice of the program, too. Earlier this year, USTA recognized the blind tennis program as the best adaptive tennis program in its southern region. USTA considered a wide range of adaptive tennis programs for the honor, from tennis made for people in wheelchairs to tennis with padded balls to assist veterans with PTSD.

USTA has also expressed interest in helping the program continue and grow.

“It makes my heart swell, it’s huge,” Bateman said. “We’re able to let other people know this program exists, so to have the platform of the award is good.”

Even with the award, Bateman isn’t one to rest on her laurels. There are schools for visually impaired children in other states, and she said she would love to invite them to play tennis with Georgia Academy for the Blind students.

Additionally, Bateman hopes to expand adaptive tennis programs to adults as well. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than seven million Americans were blind or experiencing vision loss.

“There’s millions of people nationwide who lose their eyesight,” Bateman said. “They obviously need to exercise, too, and (adaptive tennis) is a great way to get out and do that.”

This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 3:39 PM.