From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American tennis player
Brad Alan Parks
(born April 1, 1957)
[1]
is an American
wheelchair tennis
player
[2]
who co-invented wheelchair tennis with Jeff Minnebraker. During the
Uniqlo Wheelchair Tennis Tour
in the 1990s, Parks won five singles and seven doubles titles during Championship Series events. During the
1992 Summer Paralympics
, Parks reached the quarterfinals in the men's singles and won gold with
Randy Snow
in the men's doubles. At the 1994
Wheelchair Tennis Masters
, Parks also reached the quarterfinals in the men's singles. As an executive, Parks co-founded the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis in 1980 before becoming the first president of the
International Wheelchair Tennis Federation
in 1988. Parks became part of the
International Tennis Hall of Fame
in 2010 and was the 2016
Philippe Chatrier Award
recipient from the
International Tennis Federation
.
Life and career
[
edit
]
Parks was born in
Orange, California
.
[1]
He attended a dental program at the
University of Utah
.
[3]
[4]
At the age of 18, he participated at a
freestyle skiing
competition in
Park City, Utah
.
[5]
[6]
While participating, Parks performed a special skilled
stunt
which he then went of the ramp from the competition.
[6]
He was supposed to land on his
skis
, but then landing on his back in an icebound surface causing him in an
injury
.
[1]
[6]
With being injured, Parks was
paralyzed
from his
vertebrate
anatomy
hips
.
[1]
He then created a sport for
disabled people
with
wheelchairs
, in which Parks had help from tennis player, Jeff Minnebraker, in 1977.
[1]
Parks creation was
wheelchair tennis
, in which he thought of the idea in the hospital with his injury.
[1]
With Minnebraker, they've both created the rules for wheelchair tennis.
[5]
As a
Uniqlo Wheelchair Tennis Tour
player during the 1990s, Parks won five singles and seven doubles titles at Championship Series events.
[7]
[8]
He also reached the quarterfinals at the men's singles event during the 1994
Wheelchair Tennis Masters
.
[9]
Park competed at the
1992 Summer Paralympics
, in the first
wheelchair tennis
competition at the
Paralympics Games
.
[5]
During his events, Parks reach the quarterfinals in the men's singles.
[10]
He was awarded the
gold medal
with
Randy Snow
in the
men's doubles
event.
[1]
[5]
Parks co-founded the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis with Dave Saltz in 1980.
[11]
He then was the first initialed president of the
International Wheelchair Tennis Federation
, in 1988.
[1]
[5]
With his creation, the
United States Tennis Association
created an award called "The Brad Parks Award", in 2002.
[1]
He became honored in the
International Tennis Hall of Fame
, being placed on the
contributor category
, in 2010.
[1]
In 2016, Parks was the recipient of the
Philippe Chatrier Award
by the
International Tennis Federation
.
[12]
Apart from tennis, Park won medals in
wheelchair racing
at the
World Disabled Olympics
and the
National Wheelchair Olympics
.
[13]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
"Class of 2010: Brad Parks"
.
International Tennis Hall of Fame
. Retrieved
February 6,
2022
.
- ^
"Wheelchair not a handicap for pro"
.
The Miami News
.
Miami, Florida
. December 25, 1980. p. 39
. Retrieved
February 6,
2022
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
Bordman, Sid (August 23, 1984).
"Tennis mushrooms with wheelchair athletes"
.
The Kansas City Star
.
Kansas City, Missouri
. p. 24
. Retrieved
February 6,
2022
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
Dean, Paul (March 5, 1980). "The Wheelchairman of the Tennis Courts".
Los Angeles Times
. sec. V p. 6.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"How One Man's Idea Spawned Wheelchair Tennis"
.
International Paralympic Committee
. June 5, 2012
. Retrieved
February 6,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
"The amazing story of Brad Parks"
.
Petaluma Argus-Courier
.
Petaluma, California
. October 30, 1987. p. 7
. Retrieved
February 6,
2022
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Brad Parks"
.
International Tennis Foundation
. Singles
. Retrieved
February 24,
2022
.
- ^
"Brad Parks"
.
International Tennis Foundation
. Doubles
. Retrieved
February 24,
2022
.
- ^
"NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters"
.
International Tennis Foundation
. Retrieved
February 24,
2022
.
- ^
"Brad Parks"
.
International Paralympic Committee
. Retrieved
February 24,
2022
.
- ^
Jauss, Bill (June 1, 1980). "Tennis serves this wheelchair athlete".
Chicago Tribune
. sec. 4 p. 9.
- ^
Palmer, Dan (17 May 2016).
"Wheelchair tennis founder to receive ITF's highest accolade"
.
Inside the Games
. Retrieved
February 24,
2022
.
- ^
Martz, Jim (January 14, 1981). "Tennis on wheels".
Miami Herald
(International ed.). p. 4B.
External links
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Brad Parks
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