“I wonder if you can play tennis in a wheelchair?” In 1976, a college student at the University of Utah got into an accident at a freestyle skiing competition in the Rocky Mountains. Born in Southern California in 1957, this kid who had grown up on water skis and surfboards had chosen to pursue skiing professionally. That day, he was helicoptered to a hospital in Salt Lake City, where he was told he was paralyzed from the waist down due to a “complete spinal cord injury” and would never walk again. After a few months grappling with the initial shock and physical impact of the accident and learning to use a wheelchair, he found himself in a rehab center thinking about how he wanted to be able to play sports with his friends again. Others suggested wheelchair basketball. His response: “I wonder if you can play tennis in a wheelchair?” That 18-year-old was Brad Parks, a 2010 inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and founder of the worldwide sport Wheelchair Tennis, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026. In an episode of The Tennis Podcast that aired exclusively for their paid “Friends” tier on December 19, 2025, Parks gave an interview, and the hosts discussed his impact on the sport. One of the hosts, Catherine Whitaker, said: “So that’s how it started. In a rehab hospital. Just months/weeks after a devastating, life-altering accident as a teenager. Brad Parks decides he wants to be able to play tennis, and the fact that in order to do that, he needs to create a sport and the means to play that sport out of nothing, does not deter him.” Parks connected first with a former aviation specialist named Jeff Minnenbraker, who taught him to build his own aluminum, aerodynamic wheelchair for tennis. In 1977, he held the first wheelchair tennis exhibition in Los Angeles with 20 competitors participating. Wheelchair tennis had officially transitioned from “therapeutic activity to competitive sport,” as Brad continued to network, politic, and promote that sport. 1981 saw the formation of a player’s association, and the first tournament outside the U.S. was held in France the following year. In 1988, Brad led the creation of the International Wheelchair Tennis Federation. It became a full Paralympic Sport in 1992 and was integrated into the International Tennis Federation in 1998. The most consequential development was Wheelchair Tennis’ inclusion at events on the ATP Tour (men’s professional tennis) and the WTA (women’s professional tennis). The former Lipton tournament (now the Miami Open) was an early adopter in the 1990s. Among the Grand Slams, the Australian Open began showcasing Wheelchair Tennis in 2002. The US Open followed suit in 2005, the French Open in 2007, and finally Wimbledon fully embraced it in 2016. Today, there are more than 170 Wheelchair Tennis events annually in 50 countries across the world. Brad Parks told David Law of The Tennis Podcast, “where we are today is beyond my wildest imaginations.” The types of chairs, the amount of prize money, the number of players. He achieved all of that incrementally, and with lots of help, over 50 years. He says that the players are now seen as “athletes instead of inspirations.” What is Wheelchair Tennis? Let’s look at the logistics of the sport Parks created. According to Wikipedia: “There are three categories: Men, Women, and Quads; each category has singles and doubles tournaments. The Quad, the newest division, is for players who have substantial loss of function in at least one upper limb, but may include various disabilities besides quadriplegia….Quad players often tape the rackets to their hand, to compensate for loss of function…” The International Tennis Federation (ITF), who are re-branding as World Tennis, say “One of the fastest growing wheelchair sports in the world, wheelchair tennis is played in the same way as able-bodied tennis, with the only exception being that a wheelchair tennis player is allowed two bounces of the ball.” Check out a full run-down of the rules here, but in short, the scoring system of Love, 15, 30, 40, etc. applies, and the same courts are used as in non-disabled tennis. Athletes must submit medical data to the ITF and undergo a process of classification, based on their specific upper or lower body physical disability, to ensure they qualify for Wheelchair Tennis and are placed into the right category, which keeps the playing field level. The ITF has a cute video about that process here. In addition to Brad Parks, there are six other Wheelchair Tennis players in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, including 2023 inductees Esther Vergeer (NED) and Rick Draney (USA). If you think Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and the Williams sisters are impressive: Vergeer won 559 of her last 560 matches before retiring and was ranked world #1 for 12 years. The Live Wheelchair Tennis Experience In 2024, I attended a Wheelchair Tennis demonstration. Sidling up to the court in my mobility scooter, I joined a small crowd of wheelchair users and non-disabled attendees. Among them was professional WTA player Shelby Rogers (USA), who lives nearby. As dusk fell, she got seated in a loaner tennis wheelchair, to try her hand at this version of the sport for the first time, with the help of members of the United States Tennis Association (USTA). On court with Shelby were regular Wheelchair Tennis players, as well as other newbies who volunteered, and they took turns playing some doubles points. In women’s tennis, Shelby, who has since retired, was very good. At the 2021 US Open, she beat world #1 Ash Barty (AUS) on Arthur Ashe Stadium during a night session in front of 25,000 screaming fans. But seated in the wheelchair, she was unsure how to hold her racket, how to navigate a backhand that required two hands when one had to stay on the wheelchair, and how to make quick positioning adjustments. Shelby took it all in stride and joyfully participated in the demonstration, while I watched intently from the sidelines, feeling too bashful to volunteer to try it myself. Since then, I’ve watched a little bit of Wheelchair Tennis, when it’s available on streaming platforms from the Grand Slam tournaments, and I’ve come to know the names of some of the most accomplished players. But I was keen to learn more. So, in March 2026, I attended the Miami Open, as I’ve done for many years. And this time, I focused one of my days on the inaugural Wheelchair Tennis Invitational Tournament. Two courts were simultaneously hosting Men’s and Women’s wheelchair matches (no Quad Players were in attendance at this event), and I designed a plan whereby I could see as much play on each court as possible. I began with a women’s match between Aniek van Koot (NED) and Angelica Bernal (COL). Next up was Gustavo Fernandez (ARG) vs. Martin de la Puente (ESP), then a change of court to catch men’s singles world #2 and doubles #1 Alfie Hewett (GBR) vs. Daniel Caverzaschi (ESP) and, finally, men’s singles world #1 Tokito Oda (JPN) vs. Charlie Cooper (USA). As they played, I tried to familiarize myself with the sights and sounds of the sport. I knew to expect the two-bounce rule, but there were many sensations I couldn’t have anticipated, which don’t come across on tv. Aniek van Koot had a feisty energy about her, and she stored extra tennis balls in the spokes of her wheels, safeguarding them until her turn to serve arrived. Those large wheels on the side are angled to provide balance and stability, with assistance from smaller wheels at the front and back of the chair. I took note of the way van Koot’s chair kept her left leg tucked back, yet positioned to stabilize her movements, using a guard in front of her shin and a strap around her foot. She was born with her right leg shorter than the left, and a series of unsuccessful surgeries as a kid led to her right leg being amputated above the knee. Throughout the day, I admired how each athlete positioned themselves in the chair to accomplish the same movements, while navigating their individual lower limb differences. Gustavo Fernandez’ enormous biceps showed off his power as he served, demonstrating how much core and upper body strength it takes to successfully complete that motion from a seated position. When his opponent, de la Puente, served, his wheelchair rose up, balanced on one wheel, as he reached to hit the ball, and the sheer force of that service motion caused his whole chair to come crashing back down with a bang, just before he zipped away to hit Fernandez’ return. In professional tennis, one-handed backhands are becoming increasingly rare, but in Wheelchair Tennis they are required. One hand must be on the wheelchair at all times, keeping it spinning and moving. Alfie Hewett, who is magnetic to watch, had such a smooth backhand and a quick spinning motion, never losing sight of the ball as he did a 360 and sped back towards it to win easily against Caverzaschi. Tokito Oda, too, has a beautiful backhand. Yet, with Oda, I found myself studying his chair. Like the other players, his had a low back and angled wheels, but this was a customized chair, featuring black and red rims. Part way through his match against Charlie Cooper, Oda signaled to the chair umpire that he needed assistance. I’m accustomed to seeing physiotherapists called to the court to assist injured or ill players. This, however, was a visit from a mechanic for his wheelchair, and the mechanic was the unassuming gentleman in his own wheelchair who happened to be sitting right next to me during the match. He wheeled right out onto the court with his repair kit and had Oda playing again in no time. I’ve written before about the losses or damage that can occur when an airline mishandles a mobility device. During that mechanical time out, I couldn’t help but wonder how these professional athletes, who spend the year travelling th
