Wheelchair tennis players serve up some serious competition on Montreal's South Shore

It's been just over 10 years since 32-year-old Rob Shaw's diving accident left him partially paralyzed from the neck down and coming to terms with his injury wasn't easy.

"I had a lot of pent up resentment toward my injury in general — what it took away from me — and I couldn't really let that go. I couldn't separate who I was before my injury and who I am now," said Shaw, who is from North Bay, Ont.

But after plenty of hard work, he is now one of the top wheelchair tennis players in the men's singles quad (quadriplegic) category and he is among those competing on Montreal's South Shore this weekend.

He played tennis on two feet from age eight to 21, and then took up the racket again about eight years ago, adjusting to a slower version of the sport played from a specialized wheelchair with the racket taped to his hand to assist with grip.

He may not be able to move as quickly or hit the ball as hard as he used to, but he has revived his passion for the sport just the same — a passion, he explains, that didn't develop overnight, as he found himself frustrated by his limitations in the beginning.

His first attempt to compete was exhausting and he burned himself out.

So he took a break from competitive tennis to train in a more relaxed environment, playing for fun with friends and family while working not just on getting his body into shape, but his emotions as well.

"I needed that two-year break to sort of reset my mind and get myself in a better position to succeed," said Shaw.

"It took me a long time to get to that stage where I could be happy just being a good wheelchair tennis player and not a good standup player. They're two very different games with a lot of similarities, but you can't compare one to the other and I