Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Tennis player bounces back after injury

Alec Thomas

Nicky Fuchs / Special to the Home News

Eighteen-year-old Alec Thomas, a student at Bishop Gorman High School, practices his double-handed backhand swing at the Las Vegas Country Club.

Click to enlarge photo

Alec Thomas, 18, practices his serve at the Las Vegas Country Club.

Click to enlarge photo

Alec Thomas, a senior at Bishop Gorman High School, practices hitting with his right hand now that his wrist has gotten stronger at the Las Vegas Country Club.

At its worst, Alec Thomas’ wrist condition was so severe he couldn’t even make a fist.

Gripping a tennis racket with his dominant right hand wasn’t an option either.

For a tennis player of five years, months away from his senior season at Bishop Gorman, it was a scary injury that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

“Certain hits and especially volleys would cause a sharp pain,” said Thomas, 17. “It was like a knife was going right through your wrist.”

He noticed the pains last February and was diagnosed with the rare Kienbock’s disease a few months later. In Kienbock’s disease, the blood supply to one of the small bones of the hand near the wrist is interrupted.

Thomas, who lives in Summerlin, was able to recover in time for the season and took third in doubles at the state tournament with partner Kyle Del Rosario.

Taking third was nice, but Thomas was more happy to be swinging his racket again.

“It was so frustrating because there was no answer to it,” Thomas said. “There was so many questions with it and no way to know for sure how to fix it. I thought I would never be able to play tennis again because I couldn’t play on a consistent basis.”

At the same, Thomas was recovering from a family tragedy.

His 21-year-old brother, Adam Thomas, died in a car accident the previous March.

“There was a big void from the events that had happened,” said Kelly Thomas, his mother. “His drive and love for the sport was definitely something that helped get him through.”

Doctors decided the best way for Thomas’ wrist to heal was to put it in a cast. So, instead of dropping the sport, he learned to play with his left hand.

“It was basically relearning tennis all over again,” he said.

Johnny Lane, his instructor at Las Vegas Country Club, had spent five years developing Thomas’ right-handed game.

Switching it around meant Thomas went from playing the best local youth competitors to playing with beginners.

“He took to it like a fish would take to water,” Lane said. “His goal was to do whatever it took to keep playing tennis. He just would get the ball machine and hit and hit until he got it.”

After five months in a cast, he got fed up with being restrained and decided to remove it himself.

To the surprise of his doctors, they found his wrist to be almost completely healed.

Alec Thomas had no problems with it during the season and is now training for local tennis tournaments and possibly a tennis scholarship.

He is thankful for the sport in helping him get through the toughest time of his life.

“It was kind of that outlet you could go to and forget about your everyday troubles,” he said. “I know my brother would never want me to give up tennis because of his passing.”

Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or [email protected].

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy