Sideline Stories: Kedzie Teller, Maine Queer Tennis Alliance

Sports have always been a core part of my identity. Growing up in Scarborough, Maine, I was happiest chasing a soccer ball. As the youngest of four children, with three older sisters who were elite athletes themselves, sports shaped my childhood, my friendships, and so much of who I became.

I dabbled in just about everything before eventually competing as a Division I collegiate sprinter. But while athletics have given me some of my fondest memories, my relationship with sports hasn’t always been easy.

For much of my life, I felt disconnected from the very communities that meant so much to me. I was chubby. I was effeminate. I was an easy target for teenage boys. Every time I stepped onto a field or track, I felt I had to work twice as hard to earn the respect of my peers. Run faster. Play harder. Achieve more. Looking back, I recognize just how much energy I spent trying to prove I belonged in spaces that should have welcomed me from the beginning.

And yet, I never stopped loving the challenge of competition or believing in the extraordinary power of sports to bring people together. It wasn’t until I discovered tennis as an adult that I began to understand just how transformative that power could be.

I didn’t grow up playing tennis (soccer and track took priority back then), but I always loved watching it. So, in my 20s, I taught myself the game, fell in love with its challenges, and slowly built a new athletic identity around it.

During a particularly difficult chapter of my life, I discovered the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance (GLTA), an international community of LGBTQ+ tennis players and allies. At a time when I needed something positive to work toward, tennis gave me purpose. I threw myself into training, setting goals, and becoming a better player. What started as a personal challenge soon became something much bigger.

In 2023, I traveled to Dublin, Ireland, for the first tournament of my first full season competing on the GLTA tour. I won my division – it was a life highlight for sure – but the trophy wasn’t what stayed with me. It was the people.

I discovered an extraordinary community of athletes who celebrated one another not only for how they played, but for who they were. I found friendship, encouragement, and belonging – it was a community I had never felt before. After spending so much of my athletic life trying to earn my place, I had finally found a community where I simply had one.

That experience changed my life.

Fast-forward to June 2026, when my fiancé and I packed up our lives in Philadelphia and moved back to Maine. I’d left the state when I was just 10 years old, and after decades away, the kid in me was ready to come home, put down roots, and build a life in the place I’d always loved.

And as I thought about the community I wanted to build here, I kept coming back to the one that had changed my life through tennis. What if I could help create that same sense of belonging in Maine?

I knew Maine had a wonderful sporting culture and tight-knit communities, but having access to a sport and feeling connected to a community within that sport are two different things. For LGBTQ+ athletes, finding people who share our experiences, understand our challenges, and celebrate our identities isn’t always easy, particularly in places where those communities may be smaller or less visible. I know firsthand how isolating that can feel, but I also know what becomes possible when that isolation gives way to connection.

That’s why I founded the Maine Queer Tennis Alliance (MQTA).

My vision is to build more than a place to play tennis. I want to create opportunities for friendships to form, for new players to discover the game, and for experienced athletes to find a community that welcomes them wholeheartedly. Whether someone is picking up a racket for the first time or has been competing for decades, I want them to feel that there’s a place for them here.

Our upcoming Lobster Clawssic, Maine’s first GLTA sanctioned tournament, will bring LGBTQ+ athletes and allies from around the world to our state. But the tournament is only the beginning. My hope is to build a lasting, year-round community that connects people across Maine through the sport I love.

Nobody should have to travel halfway around the world to discover what it feels like to belong. So, why can’t I build that here? Maine is, after all, the way life should be.