There may not be a more decorated high school athlete in the state of Utah than Matt Nadauld.
He first began playing competitive wheelchair tennis less than three years ago. Since then, the 17-year-old junior at Bountiful High has hoisted three national championship trophies, having won his latest pair of titles this past September.
“I’m super competitive. Like, it’s pretty bad,” Nadauld laughingly told the Deseret News. “It’s just cool to be able to go compete, push yourself to your max and kind of just do what you love. Tennis is just something I love, so it’s fun to be able to do that at a high level and compete.”
Born with a condition called spina bifida, Nadauld has been in a wheelchair his entire life. His love for sports and the outdoors led him to a Salt Lake-area wheelchair tennis camp a few years ago, where he interacted with professionals within the sport, including Marianne Orr, and made an immediate impression.
“You could see right off the bat that he had really good hand-eye coordination, he was just excited to be there all the time and couldn’t get enough of tennis,” Orr said.
“... You could tell he had that drive and passion for the sport and wanted to take it to the next level. It’s been fun to see his progression from when he first started to where he’s at now, he’s come a long way in the last couple of years.”
The chipper, enthusiastic Nadauld “quickly progressed beyond what we could give him,” according to Orr, leveling up to play in adult camps before eventually starting to train with a coach, Quinn Allred, and hit the tournament circuit.
Spinning power
“His strength, by far, is spin,” Allred said. “We’ve worked hard on his top-spin shots, and he hits some shots that have really hard, really high RPMs on there, so when the ball actually crosses the net and bounces, it accelerates and kicks up. His opponents have a really hard time handling the amount of culmination of power and spin that are on the ball, and it really kicks up high and it’s hard to handle for them.”
Since debuting in March 2023, Nadauld has traveled all across the country to compete in various tournaments, playing in notable places such as Indian Wells in California and the United States Tennis Association’s campus in Orlando, Florida.
Leading up to these tournaments, however, Nadauld prepares with dogged tenacity. He gets in as many reps as he can, studies film to pick up different techniques and even faces able-bodied opponents to push himself as far as possible. Improving is an obsession.
“He’s not limiting himself on wheelchair tennis, he’s always trying to play with whoever there is, whoever he can get his hands on, and he’ll play with them,” Allred said. “When he goes to these tournaments, he’s well-prepared because he’s played a variety of players of all different skill levels and types.”
Pushing forward
“As he’s had success, he has’t stopped (pushing himself), he’s actually gotten hungrier to do more, be better, find even better opponents, no matter where they can come from.”
This past September, Nadauld won national championships in both junior doubles and singles in Orlando, having already won another doubles championship in 2024 as well.
But in addition to the awards and accolades, Nadauld has found something even more valuable at these tournaments — friendships within a tight-knit, ultra-supportive community.
“It’s pretty cool to be able to go to these tournaments where there’s other people like you. You feel like you’re a part of something, this tight little circle of people, that don’t let their challenges get in the way of life, they just make the most of it,” Nadauld said.
“... It’s just like a different bond, you can kind of relate to that person more. You try to beat them on the court, but then off the court, you’re buds with them, you hang out with them, text them and just play with them whenever you can. It’s very wholesome.”
A good sport
The love Nadauld feels for his fellow players has proven obvious, as he’s earned multiple sportsmanship awards at the different tournaments he’s competed in.
“It just speaks volumes about Matt, that he can go to these tournaments that are high pressure, high stakes, and just maintain the true person that he is and treat everybody the same,” Allred said. “Everybody just loves seeing him.”
Added Nadauld, “Obviously, tennis (success) is good, but it’s cool to be able to be recognized for more than just tennis. I love tennis, and it’s important to me, but it’s more important to me to be a better person.”
Life outside of tennis hasn’t always been easy for Nadauld, however. Health challenges have been frequent, and at times, rather severe, having undergone dozens of surgeries including several on his brain.
But amid the various trials, Nadauld hasn’t lost any of his light. He’s maintained his authentic, unfailing optimism and served as an example of strength and perseverance to those around him.
“No matter what he goes through, he’s always looking at the positive side of things. He sees everything as an opportunity for growth, development and improvement,” Allred said. “I wish I had more of that in me, and I wish I could find a way to teach more people to have that type of outlook, but really, it’s just what’s been instilled in him by his parents, his grandparents and his family, you know, what’s been inside of him from birth.
“He’s just the kind of guy that always knows he can overcome anything that comes his way, and he passes on his positive energy to everybody around him. It’s awe-inspiring for everybody that knows him.”
‘Everybody’s friend’
Nadauld’s mother, Kelly, believes his difficulties have resulted in a greater capacity for him to love others.
“At school, he’s everybody’s friend. He just looks out for other people,” Kelly Nadauld said. “I think his life has given him a perspective to reach out to others. He’s super happy, he’s just honestly so positive. ... His tennis is cool, but who he is is cooler.”
Nadauld, ever so humble despite his lengthy list of tennis achievements, credits his positivity, drive and hope — essentially what makes him who he is — to his faith in God.
“It is what it is, and life keeps going,” Nadauld said. “I have a bigger perspective from the gospel, knowing that this is just what it is for now and I can push through it and be better afterwards.
“But while I’m here, I have what I have, so I’ve got to make the most of it, and I have the best people around me to do that.”
