Paralympian Jon Rydberg is currently the top-ranked wheelchair tennis player in the U.S.

Five athletes will represent the U.S., including two members of the 2004 U.S. Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Team - Jon Rydberg (Oakdale, Minn.) and Kaitlyn Verfuerth (Rancho Cucamanga, Calif.), who will be turning 22 on the day of Opening Ceremonies.

Lee Hinson (Wassan, Australia), Paul Moran (Glenview, Ill.) and Beth Arnoult-Ritthaler (Paia, Hawaii) complete the roster.

Rydberg, the top-rated player in the U.S., is looking strong after a one-year hiatus to play wheelchair basketball and looks to be a strong medal contender in Rio.

“He’s got to be one of the favorites,” James said. “The expectation is for him to get through the draw and win a medal.”

James added that Moran would be a “wild card” in the men’s draw because of the four-time Paralympian’s (sitting volleyball – 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004) experience in big events and understanding of high-level international competition. Meanwhile, he sees Hinson as being a steady player who could combine with Rydberg to bring home a medal from the men’s doubles field.

“Lee brings a level of consistency to the table,” James said. “His experience and consistency will be essential to winning gold in the doubles.”

Taking gold in men’s doubles will be no easy task, particularly with strong teams representing Chile and Brazil. In the singles draw, the U.S. will receive strong competition from Chile’s Robinson Mendez (“clearly a threat,” according to James) and Argentina’s Oscar Diaz (“a wonderful player”), among others.

On the women’s side, James says he’s expecting a “wide-open” competition in both the singles and doubles draw, but feels that Arnoult and Verfuerth had the ability to each go deep into the competition.

“They’ve played well and got a lot of matches under their belt,” James said. “They’ll be coming off the European tour in prime shape.”

One variable the U.S. team will have to account for will be the red clay surface it will be playing on during competition.

“It’s hard to end a point on clay,” Moran said. “You have to be more patient and be able to take advantage of your opportunities.

“We’ll need to change our shots,” Hinson said. “Instead of hitting low shots like you would on a hard surface, we’ll have to work on creating more spin and putting more loft on the ball.”

While the players will have to make subtle adjustments to their chairs and their games, James and assistant coach Jason Harnett (Irvine, Calif.) will be looking to ensure that those adjustments stay subtle.

“We need to recognize that this isn’t a surface that we normally play on as Americans, so we have to embrace the challenge,” James said. “We only need one opponent at a time, and the court can’t be one of them.”

James added that, despite his high hopes for his athletes in Rio, there’s always that fear of an unknown player coming out of nowhere and surprising people.

“That’s one of the exciting aspects of Paralympic sport,” James said. “You can still have guys come out of nowhere and beat everyone, so you need to be ready to play your best.”