Mattingly Bristow plays tennis with a grace that tells anyone watching she is a pure talent in the sport. Opponents from Weatherford to Belgium have seen her skills and fallen victim to her talents.
Oh … she also plays in a wheelchair.
Mattie, as she is more commonly known, is a sophomore at Weatherford High School and a member of the Kangaroos/Lady Roos varsity tennis team. She has been in a wheelchair since she was 14 months old after being diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a cancer of nerve cells.
The cancer mass was in her upper back but had fingers that went into her spine. She went through six months of chemotherapy, but the cancer left her with an injured spine. She has no muscle strength from her chest down to her legs.
Mattie is ranked No. 15 in the world among junior wheelchair tennis players in her age group. She played on the United States Davis Cup Team over the summer and placed second in the state at the first Texas Tennis Coaches Association Wheelchair State Tennis Tournament last spring.
“She is one of the hardest workers you will find out there, loves to practice and put in the work in order to get better,” Weatherford High School tennis coach Wesley Kidd said. “I believe she will be competing at the biggest stages one day and maybe her old high school coach will get to watch her one day on the grandstand of Arthur Ashe (U.S. Open) or Wimbledon.”
The only difference when Mattie plays an able-bodied opponent is that the ball gets to bounce two times on her side of the court, compared to once on the other side.
Mattie has been playing wheelchair tennis for the past four and a half years.
“I got started in a couple of ways. I went to ability expos in Arlington and Dallas. They have different sports that you can try,” she said. “I always like going to the tennis demos.”
This is where she discovered the Dallas Wheelchair Tennis Club. She started going to the club to practice with coach Carlos Turic.
She has been practicing with them at Wagon Wheel Tennis Club in Coppell or at the SMU indoor tennis center every weekend.
“Going into Mattie playing wheelchair tennis, we really were not sure what it was all about. She really enjoyed playing and then she found out the different things she could do by playing wheelchair tennis,” Mattie’s father, Bryan Bristow, said. “We knew she was serious about playing when she asked to go to the courts all the time. She would practice about six times a week.
“Then she started making goals for what she wanted. One by one she started to achieve those goals. We are extremely happy to see her work hard and reach many of her goals.”
One of her main goals was to play for Team USA as a junior member, which she was able to achieve this past summer.
“It was really special telling her when we found out she made Team USA,” Bryan Bristow said. “The next goal is making the U.S. Open, which if she keeps working hard, we think she will achieve that goal also.”
Even though she’s been playing less than five years, Mattie has piled up a host of accolades. This past summer was one of the top honors as she traveled to Knokka-Heist, Belgium, with the U.S. Junior Team for international competition in the BNP Paribas World Team Cup Junior Festival.
Her team captured a bronze medal.
“It was a very fun experience competing with the top juniors in the world. I made a lot of new friends. I have never done anything like it before,” she said.
Along with that and winning the inaugural TTCA state title in co-ed singles, other success includes:
Mattie’s older brother, Cy, is able-bodied and also plays tennis, but not on the WHS varsity. He competes in football and baseball.
Her father, while not a tennis player, coached football, baseball and basketball at several places around the area for a dozen years, including Granbury and Tison Middle School.
“I know many people say she is an inspiration,” Bryan Bristow said. “We hear it many times when she plays able-bodied players, which I am glad people see that, but to Mattingly she is just another athlete out competing and wanting to win just like any other athlete playing sports.”
Her high school coach said along with her talent, Mattie brings something else that’s crucial to the program.
“One thing she brings to the team is nobody has any excuses. If she is having a rough day she is still working hard, and the others kids see her and also work hard with no excuses,” Kidd said. “She is just one of the kids. They don’t see her as a player in a wheelchair but just a kid, and I think that is what she wants as well, to be known as a good tennis player – not just a good wheelchair player.
“It has been a joy and privilege to work with her this far in her career,” he said.
Mattie said she plans to continue playing tennis in college – and beyond. While she’s not sure where she wants to attend college, she is certain what she wants to study.
“I want to study to be a veterinarian because I like animals,” she said. “There are around 12 schools that offer wheelchair tennis.”
She also wants to turn professional and play in the Olympics one day.
“I also have a goal to play in all the grand slams (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open),” she said.
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