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Brad Parks elected to Tennis Hall of Fame

The pioneering founder of wheelchair tennis will make history as the first wheelchair player to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

The 52-year-old American is one of seven inductees named by Hall of Fame chairman Christopher Clouser and President Tony Trabert. Parks is elected in the Contributor category, alongside the late Derek Hardwick, who was instrumental in the creation of Open tennis in 1968.

Parks was injured during a freestyle skiing competition when he was 18. During recreational therapy, he began experimenting with tennis and in 1976 wheelchair tennis was born. Parks and other athletes with disabilities began playing and promoting the sport in numerous exhibitions and clinics in the U.S. They visited rehabilitation hospitals to encourage the newly injured to play.

The sport quickly grew and, in 1977, the first wheelchair tennis tournaments took place. This success motivated Parks to found the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis (NFWT) as the organizing body for the sport. The purpose of the NFWT was to promote physical and psychological well being among people with disabilities regardless of age, sex, creed, or disability extent. This was accomplished through the presentation of instructional clinics, exhibitions, competitive tournaments and sports camps. As more athletes became involved, the Wheelchair Tennis Players Association (WTPA) was formed, giving players more of a say in the governance of tournaments, clinics, and expansion of the game.

”I really did not expect to be inducted,” says Parks. “I was very surprised and excited when the International Tennis Hall of Fame called and gave me the news. There were many great tennis people on the list this year, as there are every year, and I figured I was not in their league. I think it will be good for wheelchair tennis to get recognized in this way; it is all very exciting.”

Parks started the first international wheelchair tennis event, the U.S. Open, held in Irvine, California. He was the tournament chairman for 18 years, setting the standard for others to follow. Today the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour comprises 157 tournaments in 41 countries, exceeding a total of $1,500,000 in prize money. In 1985, as a result of increased international presence at the U.S. Open, the World Team Cup was started with five nations, not including women or quad players. Today this prestigious Fed Cup/Davis Cup-style team event has been contested by 52 different nations in its 25-year history and boasts men, women, quads and junior competitions. Wheelchair tennis is now played in almost 100 countries and is an integral part of the competition program at all four Grand Slams.

Parks is credited with spreading the sport internationally by conducting clinics throughout Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. In 1988, the International Wheelchair Tennis Federation (IWTF) was formed to govern this growing international sport with Parks as the inaugural president. He served on the management committee for many years and was a driving force of international wheelchair tennis. In 1998, the IWTF was fully integrated into the International Tennis Federation, making it the first disabled sport to achieve such a union on the international level.

"If I think back before the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis was formed, the idea of being a part of the ITF and the USTA was our hope and part of our future goals. We had a lot to overcome. I was at a tournament in Grand Rapids in 1985 and I saw a bunch of wheelchair tennis players in sports chairs, dressed like tennis players with rackets in their hands. We were at an indoor tennis club, and I said to myself: "We are here, we made it. This is what I always dreamed of; tennis players playing in a tournament and the tennis players just happen to be in wheelchairs."

In 1993, the ITF presented an inaugural annual award in recognition of outstanding contributions to wheelchair tennis, which went to Parks, and became the Brad Parks Award.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010 Induction Ceremony will be held on 10 July in Newport, Rhode Island. For further information, visit www.tennisfame.com.

 

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