Paul Walker

Paul Walker was injured in a parachuting accident in 1994 while serving as a commissioned officer in the United States Army. He is a 1986 graduate from Florida Southern College, having earned a B.A. in history and political science. He received his commission in 1988 and retired as a Captain in 1995. He is a proud veteran of Operation Desert Storm, and finds it humorous that the last unit he served in was the 2nd Armored Division (nicknamed Hell on Wheels). His experience leading soldiers has engendered within him a great sense of duty, responsibility and professionalism that is apparent in how he approaches almost every task.

Paul began his tennis coaching career in 2002 at George Jenkins High School in Lakeland, Fla., where he coached for 13 years. During his early coaching career, Paul began coaching at numerous wheelchair tennis camps around the country. In 2005, Dan James, then national manager of Wheelchair Tennis invited Paul to coach the U.S. women at the World Team Cup in the Netherlands. He has been a dedicated member of the national staff since then. Around 2008-09, Paul began coaching USTA league players in Polk County. He still coaches a dedicated group of women who he affectionately calls the PWTA. This fall he will begin his third year as an assistant coach to Trish Riddell with the Florida Southern women’s team.

Paul has always been an athlete. During his college days, he played baseball for Florida Southern. After his accident and prior to his subsequent career as a tennis coach, he worked his way through the ranks of the USTA wheelchair tennis divisions and ultimately became a top men’s open player in the U.S. Although he is one of the main characters in wheelchair tennis worldwide, he spends the majority of his coaching time with the able-bodied tennis community.