Country (sports) | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Residence | Chula Vista, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Fullerton, California, U.S. | March 4, 1974|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Plays | Right Handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Singles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career record | 892–198 [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career titles | 166 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Highest ranking | No. 1 (April 7, 2003) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current ranking | No. 3 (July 11, 2022) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grand Slam singles results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | W (2011, 2013, 2014) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French Open | F (2019) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wimbledon | SF (2019, 2021, 2022) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
US Open | W (2010, 2011, 2017) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Masters | W (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paralympic Games | F (2004, 2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Doubles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career record | 570–122 [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career titles | 187 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Highest ranking | No. 1 (October 14, 2002) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current ranking | No. 3 (July 11, 2022) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grand Slam doubles results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | W (2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2024) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French Open | W (2019, 2020, 2021) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wimbledon | W (2021) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
US Open | W (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other doubles tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Masters Doubles | W (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paralympic Games | W (2004, 2008, 2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Last updated on: September 10, 2021. |
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 quad division. He plays by taping the tennis racket to his hand. [2] He is currently ranked number three in the world in singles and number two in doubles. [3]
Wagner was born in Fullerton, California, [4] and grew up in Walla Walla, Washington. [2] 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. [5] 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. [2]
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. [2]
In 2002, Wagner reached number one in the ITF world rankings in quad doubles, and in 2003, he reached number one in the quad singles world rankings as well. The 2004 Summer Paralympics were the first Paralympic Games to include the quad division. Wagner won the gold medal in Quad Doubles with partner Nick Taylor and the silver medal in singles. [6]
In 2007, he participated in the first Quad competition held at the U.S. Open, winning doubles with Taylor and taking second place in singles behind Peter Norfolk. [7] Wagner had 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. The Australian Open followed suit the next year, with Wagner finishing runner-up in singles, and winning doubles with Taylor. [8] The US Open and the Australian Open were the only Grand Slams to offer a Quad wheelchair tennis draw, until 2019. The first Quad Wheelchair Doubles exhibition event was held at Wimbledon in 2018. Wagner won the event, partnering Andy Lapthorne. [9] Later that year, Wimbledon announced that they would offer a singles and doubles quad draw as of 2019 [update] . [10] Roland Garros followed with a similar announcement a few months later. [11] Wagner, partnering Alcott, won the inaugural Roland Garros Quad Doubles draw.
At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, Wagner 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. [6] At the 2012 London Paralympics, Wagner and Taylor won one more gold medal in doubles, defeating the British team of Andy Lapthorne and Peter Norfolk in the final. Wagner also won a silver medal in singles. At the final, he played against Israel's Noam Gershony. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, Wagner clinched two more medals, a Silver in Quad Doubles and a Bronze in Quad Singles.
According to ITF world rankings, Wagner had been consistently ranked in the top three of the quad division, in both singles and doubles, from 2002 until 2020. He has finished as Year-End Number 1 a total of eight times in singles, as well as fourteen times in doubles, as of December 2017 [update] . [1] Wagner had been crowned doubles champion at every U.S. Open Quad Doubles draw, since the Grand Slam started offering a Quad Draw, in 2007, until 2019, when Wagner with partner Bryan Barten lost to Alcott and Lapthorne. He has also been crowned doubles champion in all editions of the French Open Quad Doubles draw so far, playing with three different partners.
Besides competing, Wagner is often invited to teach in wheelchair camps and clinics in the United States, where he encourages both kids and adults to become involved with the sport. [12]
Wagner graduated with an elementary education degree in 2000. In 2001, when he had to choose between teaching and playing tennis, he decided to become a full time wheelchair tennis player. [13] [14] From 2006 until 2014 he lived in Hillsboro, Oregon, and then moved to Chula Vista, California. [15] He trains at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, (formerly Chula Vista Olympic Training Center) where he is the only tennis player in residence. [16]
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Current through the 2023 Australian Open.
Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | SR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | NH | F | F | F | W | F | W | W | F | F | RR | F | F | RR | QF | QF | SF | 1R | 3 / 17 |
French Open | Not held | F | SF | SF | SF | 0 / 4 | |||||||||||||
Wimbledon | Not held | SF | NH | SF | SF | 0 / 3 | |||||||||||||
US Open | F | NH | F | W | W | NH | F | F | F | NH | W | F | RR | RR | QF | SF | 3 / 12 |
Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | SR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | NH | W | W | W | F | F | W | W | W | W | W | F | F | F | F | W | SF | W | 10 / 17 |
French Open | Not held | W | W | W | SF | 3 / 4 | |||||||||||||
Wimbledon | Not held | W [a] | F | NH | W | F | 1 / 3 | ||||||||||||
US Open | W | NH | W | W | W | NH | W | W | W | NH | W | W | F | F | SF | SF | 9 / 13 |
Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height and rackets are the same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis: athletes use specially designed wheelchairs, and the ball may bounce up to two times, where the second bounce may also occur outside the court.
Esther Mary Vergeer is a Dutch former professional wheelchair tennis player. Vergeer won 43 major titles, 23 year-end championships, and seven Paralympic gold medals. She was the world No. 1 in women's wheelchair singles from 1999 to her retirement in February 2013. Vergeer went undefeated in singles for ten straight years, ending her career on a winning streak of 470 matches. She has often been named the most dominant player in professional sports.
Shingo Kunieda is a Japanese former wheelchair tennis player. With four Paralympic gold medals, 28 major singles titles – an all-time record in singles of any tennis discipline – and 50 major titles overall, Kunieda is widely considered the greatest male wheelchair player of all time.
Shraga Weinberg is an Israeli wheelchair tennis player.
Peter Robert Norfolk OBE is a British wheelchair tennis player. Following a motorbike accident which left him paraplegic, he uses a wheelchair. He took up tennis and following a further spinal complication in 2000, he began competing in the quad division. He is nicknamed The Quadfather.
Dylan Martin Alcott, is an Australian former wheelchair tennis player, former wheelchair basketball player, radio host, actor, foundation founder, business owner and motivational speaker. Alcott was a member of the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team, known colloquially as the Australian "Rollers". At the age of 17, he became the youngest Rollers gold medal winner, at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, and was the youngest to compete in the wheelchair basketball competition. In 2014, he returned to wheelchair tennis with the aim of participating at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, at which he won gold medals in the Men's Quad Singles and Doubles. He was named the 2016 Australian Paralympian of the Year due to his outstanding achievements at Rio.
Stéphane Houdet is a French wheelchair tennis player. Houdet is a former singles and doubles world number one. In 2014, he became the first man in history to complete the calendar-year Grand Slam in men's wheelchair doubles.
Jiske Griffioen is a Dutch professional wheelchair tennis player. Griffioen is a 20-time major champion, Paralympic gold medalist, seven-time Masters champion, and a former world No. 1. Alongside Aniek van Koot, Griffioen completed the Grand Slam in doubles in 2013. In singles, Griffioen is a three-time Masters champion, Paralympic gold medalist, four-time major champion, and a former world No. 1.
Wheelchair tennis events at the 2012 Summer Paralympics were held between 1 and 9 September at Eton Manor, London.
Sharon Walraven is a Dutch wheelchair tennis player. She became paraplegic at age 23 after complications following a fall while she was ice-skating. She has won seven Grand Slams doubles titles partnering compatriot Esther Vergeer. At the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing she won the gold medal in the women's doubles competition. At the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney she won a silver medal in the women's singles competition. Walraven has a highest ranking of No.2 in singles and No.1 in doubles.
Andrew David Lapthorne is a British wheelchair tennis player. He took up wheelchair tennis in 2005, and entered the quad division in 2008. He is active in both singles and doubles tournaments, and has 17 grand slam titles in singles and doubles. He competed at his first Summer Paralympics at London 2012 in the quad singles and in the quad doubles, in which he won a silver medal and is now a four-time Paralympic medallist and British no.1 Quad tennis player, who started playing wheelchair tennis at the age of 10.
Noam Gershony is an Israeli wheelchair tennis player. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics he won a gold medal in Quad singles and shared a bronze in Quad doubles with Shraga Weinberg.
Aniek van Koot is a Dutch wheelchair tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles.
Nicholas Taylor is an American wheelchair tennis player. Nick started playing tennis at the age of 14. He has played 5 times in the Australian Open and 7 times in the US Open (tennis). He has a total of 11 grand slam quad doubles titles, all of them won with partner David Wagner. Taylor and Wagner are the most successful partnership to ever play at the UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters. They have won the title 11 times as of November 2018.
Alfie Hewett is a British professional wheelchair tennis player. He is the current world No. 1 in both singles and doubles.
Heath Arthur Davidson, is an Australian wheelchair tennis player. Davidson is a four-time Australian Open doubles champion, all partnering Dylan Alcott. He has also won two Paralympic medals, a gold and silver in doubles at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, respectively. He has been selected for the 2024 Paris Paralympics, his third Games.
The 2018 Wimbledon wheelchair tennis Quad Doubles final was an exhibition match that took place on July 14, 2018. Andrew Lapthorne and David Wagner defeated Dylan Alcott and Lucas Sithole, 6–2, 6–3.
The 2020 French Open was a major tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was held at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. Originally scheduled for 24 May to 7 June, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was first moved to 20 September to 4 October 2020, then later moved back a week further to 27 September to 11 October 2020. Qualifying matches, comprising singles and doubles play, began 21 September. Junior and wheelchair tournaments were also scheduled. Rafael Nadal was the twelve-time and defending champion in men's singles; Ashleigh Barty was the defending champion in women's singles but chose not to defend her title following concerns over the pandemic.
Three-time defending champions Dylan Alcott and Heath Davidson defeated Andy Lapthorne and David Wagner in the final, 6–2, 3–6, [10–7] to win the quad doubles wheelchair tennis title at the 2021 Australian Open.
Donald Ramphadi, nicknamed Dona, is a South African wheelchair tennis player who plays in the sport's quad division. Ramphadi, alongside partner Andy Lapthorne, is the 2023 French Open quad wheelchair doubles champion. Ramphadi has also been the runner-up in numerous quad wheelchair doubles grand slam events, with frequent partners including Lapthorne, Lucas Sithole, and Koji Sugeno. Ramphadi and Sithole won bronze in the quad doubles wheelchair tennis event at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which was the African continent's first-ever wheelchair tennis medal.