SANFORD, Fla.-- The second you walk into Brittany Tagliareni’s room you can’t help but to notice the light reflecting off all of her awards.
“Well there’s the proof,” said Brittany Tagliareni, a 31-year-old competitive tennis player who has autism.
“Which one is that,” I asked her.
“The one I just won, the adult spring fling 4.5 singles. I creamed all of them. I beat two women so I was thrilled,” said Tagliareni.
Trophies and medals fill her bedroom.
“This one I got from Virginia. The inspirational athlete award,” said Tagliareni.
She even has an ESPY award.
“Oh, and I got an ESPY for something, they just gave it to me,” said Tagliareni.
Brittany has won a lot during her 13 years of playing tennis, she clearly knows the keys to success.
“Effort and concentration and focus and having a good attitude,” said Tagliareni.
The only thing in her room that shines brighter than her bling, is her contagious smile when she talks about the sport.
“I want to be the best tennis player ever. I want to be like Serena and Nadal, they never get nervous,” said Tagliareni.
She’s well on her way there but Brittany’s journey to get here hasn’t been easy.
“She wouldn’t crawl. I don’t know if it was a sensory thing, I don’t know if it was a muscle thing or all of the above. I don’t know,” said Catherine Tagliareni, Brittany’s mom.
Brittany was born with autism. She also has apraxia, and dyspraxia which makes speaking and fine motor skills hard for her.
“She couldn’t walk, hold a tennis racket, move her fingers, cut with scissors, any of that stuff,” said Tagliareni.
Fast forward 31 years later.
“Now they don’t see an autistic girl playing tennis or a girl with disabilities playing tennis, they just see a girl playing tennis and doing well,” said Catherine.
Well, is an understatement.
Brittany trains six days a week for hours a day.
“Determination, the stick to it ness, the work ethic. I mean she is constantly working on her game trying to get better. Those are the best qualities any coach can ask of a tennis player,” said John Richards, Brittany’s tennis coach.
Brittany has a big competition coming up. As she continues to prepare for the 2022
Special Olympics USA Games.
“What are you going to do when you are there,” I asked her.
“Crush them, I’ll say that any day,” said Brittany.
In hopes of reaching her ultimate goal.
“Hopefully that is where we are going. Hopefully we can repeat the success we had four years ago. Winning the state, winning the USA games. Nothing is given to us, everything is earned. So we got to go earn it again and hopefully we get the opportunity to compete for the gold medal again in the World Games in Germany,” said Coach Richards.
As another practice comes to a close Brittany’s story continues to write itself and her message will always remain the same.
“I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for her. I don’t want anyone to think of her as any different because everybody has their own struggles,” said Catherine.
Dream big and never let anything get in your way.
“It might take her longer but she is going to continue to evolve, and she’s going to continue to grow and she’s going to continue to get better on and off the court,” said Catherine.