Seventeen surgeries later, Tori Stahl has reinvented her tennis game

It’s been more than 35 years since Ronald Reagan stated, during his first inaugural address, “Those who say that we’re in a time when there are no heroes, they just don’t know where to look.” We discovered heroes in every state, starting with the determined 69-year-old who won a match at an ITF Pro Circuit event earlier this year in the Alabama town of Pelham, and culminating with the coach who has overcome multiple sclerosis to build a winning program at the University of Wyoming. Their compelling stories of courage, perseverance and achievement demonstrate that the message delivered by our 40th President rings as true today as it did then.

Tori Stahl knew her elbow was in bad shape after multiple surgeries failed to relieve her pain. But she didn’t know just how bad it was until her visit to renowned orthopedic doctor Bernard Morrey at the Mayo Clinic.

“Who did this to you?” he asked after viewing her x-rays.

Stahl’s elbow trouble started early in her sophomore season at the University of Montana, when a mishit overhead led to a total detachment of her common flexor tendon. It was a significant blow to the University of Montana’s women’s tennis team, as she was one of the top players.

Stahl would return to the court after undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair the issue, but her trademark power—including the 120 m.p.h. serve she was known for—never made a full comeback. More surgery followed later that year, and instead of easing her pain, it did further damage.  Her elbow was so unstable by her senior year that doctors forced her to sit out her final season. Losing the ability to play the sport she loved was “like a death,” Stahl says.

After graduation, she started her career as an athletic trainer in her hometown of Missoula, MT. As she worked on teenage athletes’ injuries, she put herself through her own rehab. It wasn’t until a second unsuccessful Tommy John surgery that she decided to visit Dr. Morrey.

He agreed to repair the damage under one condition: No more tennis.

When a co-worker suggested she try playing left-handed, Stahl scoffed.

“I told him that was the stupidest idea I had ever heard,” she said.

But, after a test run against the gym wall, she discovered that there was some potential. Just two months after her third Tommy John surgery, a large brace still hugging her right elbow, she won her first tournament as a lefty at the 3.0 level.

It has now been 12 years since her first foray into left-handed tennis, and 46-year-old Stahl has established herself as a solid 4.0-level player. But that doesn’t mean she’s completely mastered her newfound game.

“My right side still reacts on the court,” she says, admitting that she has friends who scold her if she sneaks in the occasional right-handed shot.

Before Stahl’s elbow surgeries—her tally now sits at 17—there were few people for her to compete with in the Missoula area. As a lefty, she participates in league and tournament play, and has become an integral part of the Missoula tennis community.

“People tell me I’m an inspiration, but I don’t see it that way,” she says. “I just see myself as someone with a passion. The only way to pursue it was to go a different road. You’d be amazed at what you can do.”