USA Wheelchair Tennis Coach Kevin Heim has ‘transformational’ experience at Paralympics

As the train Kevin Heim was riding approached the Champs-Elysées and Place de la Concorde, the host sites for the 2024 Paralympic Opening Ceremony in Paris, Heim could sense the city’s energy level increasing.

Upon exiting the train and stepping foot on ground level, Heim saw a swarm of people brimming with excitement. When he crossed a street and arrived at the Seine River, the incredible turnout overwhelmed Heim, who was visiting Paris for the first time and had never before attended the Paralympics. He called the spectacle of watching the Opening Ceremony “transformational.”

“It was palpable—the energy, the people shoulder to shoulder everywhere. I get goosebumps talking about it now,” Heim said. “To see that many able-bodied people ready to support disabled athletes was just next-level for me.”

Heim, one of Team USA’s wheelchair tennis coaches, credited Paris and the event’s organizers for doing a tremendous job throughout the Summer Paralympic Games, which ran Aug. 28 to Sept. 8. He didn’t know what to expect upon touching down in Paris, but he said the venues for each sport—the historic Roland Garros in particular for tennis—were nearly as incredible as the crowds that filled them.

“The Parisians and folks in general really came out and supported everything so well,” Heim said. “That was probably the highlight of the trip. For Conner Stroud to play literally the first match in Philippe Chatrier, the largest court, it was packed. And the energy was there, and the people were ready to see these players. They probably didn’t even know him or his opponent. But they were there, and they were in it from the first point.”

Heim, executive director of Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln and a USTA Nebraska Hall of Famer, worked with five USA wheelchair tennis stars at the Paralympics: Dana Mathewson, Maylee Phelps, Casey Ratzlaff, Stroud and David Wagner. Ratzlaff—who was born and raised in Wichita and has been America’s top-ranked men’s wheelchair tennis player since 2018—gave the USTA Missouri Valley two wheelchair tennis representatives at the Paralympics.

“He’s always been extremely supportive of my career; I love Kevin,” Ratzlaff said. “He’s really fun to be around, has a good tennis mind and always wishes the best for me.”

While none of the American wheelchair tennis players medaled at the Paris Paralympics, Heim said each competed and represented their country well. Ratzlaff and Stroud fell 6-3, 6-4 to an Argentina tandem in the opening round of doubles, and Ratzlaff dropped a 6-2, 7-6 (2) decision to Brazil’s Daniel Rodrigues in singles second-round action.

Heim noted both Stroud and Mathewson played particularly strong matches on Philippe Chatrier. Seventeen-year-old Phelps, who received a wild-card entry to qualify for the Paralympics, had some bright moments and defeated Great Britain’s Abbie Breakwell in the first round.

“That’s the big thing I keep coming back to is the sacrifice and the time these athletes put in for this one moment every four years,” Heim said. “This is the pinnacle of wheelchair sport. The four Grand Slams—they do mean a ton, absolutely—but this is truly an opportunity once every four years. And not many people make it, let alone win a match or the event.”

While Paris was Heim’s first Paralympic Games, he’s no stranger to coaching at the international level. He has worked as a national coach since 2016 and guided Team USA at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup—wheelchair tennis’s equivalent to the Davis Cup—on multiple occasions. He was chosen as the 2023 Paralympic Coach of the Year by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

“I very much appreciate the opportunity and the trust that’s been given and provided to me to have that honor,” Heim said. “There are a lot of other people who are very qualified and never get this opportunity. I wasn’t even searching for it, and here I am representing the country and working with these top-level athletes.”

Heim said the future looks good for American wheelchair tennis with veterans like Ratzlaff leading the charge infused with the talent and desire of up-and-coming competitors. When he peers ahead to the 2028 Paralympic Games, which will take place in Los Angeles shortly after the conclusion of the Olympics, he hopes the USA can build upon the excitement he witnessed in France.

“The level of support from that country and just the common, everyday people walking down the street jumping at the opportunity to support the Paralympics—that’s going to be the challenge for LA 2028,” Heim said. “The Olympics, people know about that. The Paralympics, people are learning about it more and more. There is more coverage.

“That is the challenge for the U.S. Getting people in the seats, at the venues for not just tennis but everything, and supporting the Paralympics in person. Because once they get there, they’re always amazed, they’re always inspired and they’re always looking for more.”

To read a USTA Missouri Valley feature story on wheelchair tennis standout Casey Ratzlaff as he prepped for the Paralympics, click here.