Wimbledon 2026: The man who invented wheelchair tennis 50 years ago

Parks, who originally gave herself a year to see if wheelchair tennis was possible, is proud but humble about her role over 50 years.

“I was the head of the organization, I was the first player to really play the game but it’s hard for me to say Brad, you invented wheelchair tennis, but you know I was part of it,” he said, pointing to others like Minebreaker.

Today’s players, however, are not far behind.

Britain’s 34-time Grand Slam champion Alfie Hewett said, “I think I’m surprised.

“It (wheelchair tennis) is not about accolades and externals. It’s actually the life I’ve been given and the purpose it’s given me.”

And Gordon Reid, who has won 30 Grand Slam titles, added: “It’s an incredible story and the little idea he had 50 years ago has become a huge global game. So yes, (I’m) very grateful that he got that idea back in the day.”

So much has changed since the early days, not least the chairs which are much lighter and often feature a molded seat which is more energy efficient for turning.

And the sport continues to grow – the wheelchair event at Wimbledon, which starts on Tuesday, offers a prize pot of more than £1m with men’s and women’s singles winners earning £82,000.

Its profile is also rising and finals are now played on the 12,345-capacity Court One, compared to the 276-seat Court 17 which hosted the first wheelchair singles final 10 years ago.

Parks said he was “very happy with where we are”.

“I’m jealous in a way but in a good way because I would love to be able to play (in a tournament like Wimbledon).”

But it was never what he dreamed it would be when he set out.

“I just loved hitting tennis balls, and I wanted to share the feeling of hitting tennis balls from a wheelchair,” he said.

“The thing that I feel really, really good about is that I really wanted other people to be tennis players.

“I used to get frustrated when I thought everybody was a wheelchair basketball player. Tennis wasn’t their main thing. And today I feel like tennis really stands on its own and they’re tennis players. They just sit in a wheelchair.”