SYNOPSIS
Ron's Story
Born in El Paso, Texas, Ron Rosas first picked up a tennis racket at the age of five. By his early teens, he was rising the ranks as one of the top junior tennis players in the Southwest. Although he was recruited heavily by many schools nearby, he was determined to get a scholarship from his dream school, The University of Notre Dame. In his junior year of high school, he was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to play in front of Notre Dame’s head tennis coach, Bobby Bayliss. From there, Ron was able to secure a visit, and later a scholarship to play for Notre Dame.
He was a standout player at Notre Dame during one of collegiate tennis’s greatest underdog runs in the 1992 NCAA National Tennis Tournament. Beginning the tournament as the 10-seed, Ron, alongside notable teammates, such as David Dilucia, made a run all the way to the National Title Game. The run was not only historical for Notre Dame, but in the tennis world as a whole, as the Notre Dame squad was the first “Northern” school to reach the finals in Men’s Tennis.
When his career at Notre Dame concluded, Ron went on to play in several professional events in an effort to pursue tennis as a career. After an injury, Ron moved on to coaching and started his business career in Dallas, Texas.
It was in Dallas where Ron also became a father. Ron devoted himself to his family and shared his love for tennis with them. With his wife, Victoria, they created a beautiful life for their family.
Suddenly, everything changed. He was diagnosed with Pneumonia on December 29, 2022. Things took a turn for the worst quickly, and he was intubated and in a coma within 24 hours of feeling his first symptoms. The doctors didn’t think Ron would make it. He was given his last rites early the next morning.
When Ron woke up, it was January 14, 2023.
While in a coma, Ron went into septic shock and had to undergo the use of Vasopressors, a drug that raises your blood pressure in order to help pump blood to your vital organs. This led to severe necrosis in his arms and legs. The unfortunate news that followed his awakening was something no athlete could ever imagine:
Amputation of all four limbs.
Despite the life-altering news, Ron held strong. He immediately started preparing for the surgeries through rehab and research. But one thing prevented him from rushing into the operation - his need to play tennis again.
This is what led Ron to Ohio State University and his primary surgeon Dr. Jason Souza. While local doctors in Dallas all told him they could operate and complete the amputations within the week of
learning his fate, none had answers on what Ron’s next steps would be post-surgery. That was until he met Dr. Souza on a zoom call. While on the call, Dr. Souza did something no local doctor had done before - he asked Ron what he wanted and how he wanted to move forward. Ron had two answers to the question. First, he wanted to live a quality life without a lot of pain. Second, he wanted to be able to hold a racquet and play tennis again. Dr. Souza said he would do everything that he could to make those a reality. From there, Ron was all in, he was off to Ohio State.
Dr. Souza and his team completed Ron’s surgery and were able to save his arms below the elbow and his legs below his knees, allowing for joint movement.
Ron got his wish. If everything went
right, he could play tennis again.
But Ron doesn’t just want to play tennis again. He wants to compete for a Grand Slam Title.
His first stop: The 2026 US Open.
Ron plans to compete in all four tennis majors in their “Quadriplegic Division”. In this division, players who have lost 25% or more of their limbs are eligible to compete. Today, no athletes in the Quadriplegic Division have lost 100% of their limbs.
Ron is training to become the first.
Ron has begun training and rehabbing his body in order to get back on the tennis court. It’s not an easy task.
He is working with a prosthetic team in Dallas, Texas to create the first fully prosthetic tennis arm, which will allow him to hold and play with a tennis racket.