John Noakes named recipient of ITF Brad Parks Award

John Noakes of the Netherlands has been named as the recipient of the ITF’s Brad Parks Award for 2020.

The Brad Parks Award, named after the founding father of wheelchair tennis, is presented to an individual or organisation that has made a significant contribution to wheelchair tennis on an international basis.

During his career Noakes has played a key role in the growth and development of wheelchair tennis, both in the Netherlands and at an international level.

He spent a great deal of time conducting wheelchair tennis demonstrations and promoting the sport in order to earn wheelchair tennis its place at the 1987 International Stoke Mandeville Games. This ultimately paved the way to wheelchair tennis becoming a Paralympic sport after being accepted as a demonstration sport at the Seoul 1988 Paralympics and then being made a full medal sport at the Barcelona 1992 Paralympics.

At the same time, Noakes was among those who worked tirelessly towards the formation of the International Wheelchair Tennis Federation (IWTF) and he was one of the founding executive officers of the IWTF when it was launched in 1988 with Parks as President and Noakes as Treasurer.

The new body was vital to the international growth and development of wheelchair tennis and ultimately led to wheelchair tennis being integrated into the ITF.

An outstanding coach in both tennis and wheelchair tennis, Noakes has continued to be an enthusiastic supporter of ITF wheelchair tennis development initiatives. He played a key role in the introduction of wheelchair tennis in South Africa, which was among the first countries to be supported by what is now the Wheelchair Tennis Development Fund, while Noakes has also conducted wheelchair tennis clinics in India.