South Oxfordshire girl helps create new prosthetic arm for playing tennis

  • ITV News Meridian's Natalie Verney went to see Joanie in action at Halton Tennis Centre.

One young tennis fan from South Oxfordshire has been making sure the game is more accessible.

Joanie Melady has helped create a new prosthetic arm for playing tennis and it's now available to children all over the world.

Joanie's arm didn't fully develop before birth but since using her new tool, she's now winning competitions.

She said: "There are two straps that straps onto your arm, and then you put it on. So, it's easy to just put on and off and it has a hook. It's so cool it has this shape as a tennis ball.

Joanie Melady was born without a left hand, which meant it was impossible to serve. Credit: ITV News Meridian

"You don't have to clip on anything onto the ball you just put it in. But it has these hooks so when you put it down it doesn't actually come out."

Joanie asked company Koalaa to design it and she'd already been using their prosthetics to surf, play the guitar, and ride a bike.

The company doesn't ask for money but they receive funding from charities and provide the prosthetics for free.

Founder Nate Macabuag said: "The normal assumptions are that if you're going to make a prosthetic limb or something it's got to be very complicated, it has to be very sophisticated.

Joanie's design is now available to children across the world. Credit: ITV News Meridian

"But that's an assumption by me who doesn't use prosthetic limbs. When you talk to people who do, they don't want a replacement hand, they just want a tool to do something.

"This is a perfect example, if you'd have asked me a year ago what is the perfect tennis prosthetic I would not have thought of this, but it was only working with Joanie and her dad and going through countless iterations that you get to something that's kind of cool."

Joanie's father Alan said: "Her confidence has shot up and her tennis has just gone from strength to strength.

"And it's so satisfying now, I watch her play against other children and she's now throwing the ball, doing these incredible serves, winning matches."

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