National

3 leaders in adapted tennis honored with 2026 Champions of Equality award

Macy Alcido | October 20, 2026

Emmy Award-winning journalist Hoda Kotb and 16 grassroots tennis leaders from USTA sections were honored as Champions of Equality during the 2026 US Open. Among those 16 section leaders are three women in the adapted tennis space: Kathy Connelly (USTA Eastern), Kaitlin Roselius (USTA Missouri Valley) and Marcy Hirshberg (USTA Southern).

 

In its fourth iteration, the Billie Jean King Champions of Equality award highlights women who have pushed for equality across sports, business, entertainment and beyond—and Connelly, Hirshberg and Roselius have done just that for adapted tennis players.

Connelly has launched two Buffalo, N.Y.-based ACEing Autism programs, which aim to help children with autism benefit from tennis as a vehicle for fitness and social interaction. Over the past few years, her programs have helped dozens of young people and hundreds of volunteers expand the game for adapted athletes and create opportunities for inclusion. Friends and colleagues praised Connelly, calling her award “well-deserved” and describing her as “remarkably talented” and “dedicated.”

 

For Roselius, her role as director of community outreach and evaluation for Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln, Neb., means that she spearheads tennis offerings for nearly 2,000 players. She leads Woods Tennis Center’s adapted Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD) tennis programs, including Tennis Buddies, Tennis Without Limits and Special Olympics.

 

Roselius has also participated on the court as a unified doubles partner and supported the creation of the Heartland Challenge, which brings high-performance adaptive players from around the country to Lincoln.

“Everyone wants to feel like they belong, and these athletes want to show that they do. My goal is to keep building spaces where that happens, from a first lesson to high-level competition,” Roselius said. “A lot of people in tennis still don't know much about adapted tennis, so I also want more of them to see these players in action.”

 

Hirshberg’s involvement with adapted tennis dates back to the 1990s, when she taught special education students through the ALTA Foundation. Since then, she became heavily involved with Special Pops Tennis and was chosen for the USTA National Adaptive Tennis Committee, which she served on for four terms. She plans to participate as a unified doubles partner at the USTA National IDD Championships in Orlando this weekend. 

 

“My hope is that everyone with a disability will have the opportunity to participate in tennis regardless of where they live and the nature of their disability,” Hirshberg said.

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