Jamie Elliott Pickleball Inspiration: Jamie Elliott, 74, continues to play and promote pickleball, even after multiple surgeries for chondrosarcoma, a rare bone cancer. Once paralyzed from the waist down, she now competes in a wheelchair and remains an active USA Pickleball Ambassador, helping players in both standing and seated divisions.
Fighting Cancer and Staying Active
Jamie Elliott’s health journey began about seven years ago when doctors found a tumor on her rib. In 2018, four ribs were removed. The next year, a spinal tumor left her legs paralyzed. Since then, she’s had surgeries on her lungs and liver.
Despite everything, she never gave up. “I’m still active. Nothing’s going to get me down,” said Jamie Elliott. “Some people whine about a splinter, but you’ve just got to keep moving. You might as well live life to the fullest.”
Doctors once told her she would not walk again. But Jamie Elliott stayed determined. “Of course I looked at the doctor and said, ‘I’m going to prove you wrong. I’m a pickleball player.’”
Just four months later, she stood up and started walking slowly.
Back to the Court in a Wheelchair
In 2021, Jamie Elliott returned to the court in a sports wheelchair. She named her chair “Barney” after Barney McCallum, one of pickleball’s original creators. Naming things is her way of keeping spirits high. She called the tumor on her rib “Earl” and the one on her spine “Jack.”
“It’s just to keep laughter going and keep the smiles going,” said Jamie Elliott.
She has worked closely with both wheelchair and standing players, competing at a high level in each format.
Spreading the Joy of Pickleball
Jamie Elliott first tried pickleball in 1990, but didn’t play again until 2009. “Even back then, we were just out there whamming the ball,” she said. “We didn’t know how to dink. We just served and hit the ball back and forth.”
Over time, she grew more skilled and became a 4.5-rated player. In 2014, she officially became a USA Pickleball Ambassador.
Since then, she’s helped start three clubs and runs several Facebook groups. One group, the Para Pickleball Program, supports wheelchair players in Dallas. It offers court time and access to sports chairs for those who need one.
She also helps organize a “Dink for Pink” event every October at her home club in Fairview, Texas, to raise money for breast cancer research. She spends part of each year living in Angel Fire, New Mexico.
Helping Others Through Her Story
Jamie Elliott knows how hard it is for wheelchair players to feel accepted. “The hardest part is going to a venue where nobody knows me,” she said. “Sometimes they don’t want to play with me because they think they’re going to hurt me or hit me with the ball. And it’s not because they think you’re too weak of a player. They’re just not educated, or they don’t know how to play with someone in a wheelchair.”
After going through depression herself, she found strength through pickleball and helping others. “I love seeing the smiles on their faces, when maybe a lot of them have lost hope or never thought they would ever be anything else besides being in a wheelchair in front of a TV set,” she said. “But now I have a motto that you can quote me on: Where there’s a wheel, there’s a way.”
Finding Purpose Through the Game
Jamie Elliott has made pickleball her purpose. “It gives me a purpose,” she said. “And I want to give other people a purpose in life. I want to change their lives.”
She teaches beginners, guides wheelchair athletes, and connects people to the sport—all without ever charging for lessons. For Jamie Elliott, it’s all about giving back and spreading hope.
“I say to people, ‘It isn’t the journey I would have chosen. But it’s the journey He chose for me,’” said Jamie Elliott. “This became something for me to help others. It’s devastating to anybody to have any type of injury, whether it’s a stroke, or falling and being paralyzed, or a car wreck. It’s devastating. But to know that I can possibly get them out there to the court, hearing the laughter, seeing the smiles. It’s so exciting to see that happen. That’s what it’s all about.”
News in Brief: Jamie Elliott Pickleball Inspiration
Jamie Elliott, a 74-year-old USA Pickleball Ambassador, continues to play and teach pickleball despite paralysis and cancer. She returned to the court in 2021 as a wheelchair player and now leads programs for others with disabilities. Her motto is: “Where there’s a wheel, there’s a way.”
ALSO READ: Ripley Unveils Free Pickleball Courts in Heartfelt Tribute to Beloved Local Legend