David Wagner (tennis)
.jpg) Wagner at the 2011 US Open. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country (sports) |
 United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residence | Chula Vista, California | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
March 4, 1974 Fullerton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Plays | Right Handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Singles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (7 April 2003) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | No. 1 (5 September 2011) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam Singles results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | W (2011, 2014) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| US Open | W (2010, 2011) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Masters | W (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paralympic Games |
 Silver Medal (2004, 2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Doubles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career record | 412–32 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (14 October 2002) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | No. 1 (5 September 2011) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam Doubles results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | W (2008, 2009, 2010) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| US Open | W (2007, 2009, 2010) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other doubles tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Masters Doubles | W (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paralympic Games |
 Gold Medal (2004, 2008, 2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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David Wagner (born March 4, 1974) is an American wheelchair tennis player. Paralyzed from the mid-chest down and with thirty percent function in his hands, he competes in the quadriplegic division of that sport. He plays by taping the tennis racket to his hand.[1] He is currently ranked number one in the world in both singles and doubles.[2]
Early life
Wagner was born in Fullerton, California,[3] and grew up in Walla Walla, Washington.[1] He played basketball in high school and tennis in college. He became a quadriplegic at age 21 while visiting a friend in Redondo Beach, California, during summer break. He and his friends were playing frisbee on the beach and Wagner began chasing after the frisbee through shallow water. He attempted to jump over a wave, but the wave caught his feet, spun him around, and he landed head-first in the sand, leaving him paralyzed. He took a year off of college and began practicing table tennis as part of his rehabilitation. He won a national competition in that sport three years in a row, from 1997 to 1999.[1]
Tennis career
In 1999, at age 25, he attended a wheelchair tennis training camp set up by Rick Draney, then the top-ranked quadriplegic tennis player in the world. Wagner immediately loved the sport and by 2002 was the number one ranked U.S. quadriplegic player.[1] At the 2004 Summer Paralympics he won a gold medal in quad doubles with Nick Taylor and a silver medal in singles.[4] The next year he reached number one in the world rankings in both singles and doubles and repeated that achievement in 2007.[1] Also in 2007, he participated in the first quad competitions held at the U.S. Open,[5] winning doubles with Taylor and taking second in singles behind Peter Norfolk.[6] Wagner had successfully urged the United States Tennis Association to include a quadriplegic division at the event; the U.S. Open was the first of the Grand Slam tournaments to do so.[5] The Australian Open followed suit the next year, and Wagner again lost the first place match of the singles competition to Norfolk and won doubles with Taylor.[7] At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, he and Taylor won gold in doubles and competed against each other in the bronze medal match of the singles event, with Wagner taking the match and the medal.[4] As of January 2011, Wagner is ranked first in singles and doubles.[8]
Personal
Wagner worked as an elementary school teacher until 2004, when he began competing in tennis full-time.[5] From 2006 until 2014 he lived in Hillsboro, Oregon, and then moved to Chula Vista, California.[9]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Herzog, Boaz (July 20, 2008). "Wheelchair tennis star wants gold this time". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
- ↑ "ITF Wheelchair Tennis Rankings". itftennis.com. International Tennis Federation. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
- ↑ "Wagner, David - Biography". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
- 1 2 Results for david wagner from the International Paralympic Committee
- 1 2 3 "From ballgirl to Grand Slam champion, Azarenka makes it to top". Sporting News. September 6, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ↑ "Scores & Stats". United States Tennis Association. 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ↑ "2008 Australian Open Finals". Tennis Australia. 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ↑ http://www.itftennis.com/wheelchair/players/player.asp?player=100011867
- ↑ Smith, Jeff (June 3, 2014). "Former Hillsboro resident David Wagner helps U.S. wheelchair tennis team win silver medal at World Team Cup". The Oregonian. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
External links
| Preceded by Peter Norfolk Peter Norfolk Peter Norfolk |
Year End Number 1 - Quad Singles 2005 2007 2010-2013 |
Succeeded by Peter Norfolk Peter Norfolk Incumbent |
| Preceded by Shraga Weinberg |
Year End Number 1 - Quad Doubles 2004–2013 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |