- Born: 32 (22 Jan 1981)
- Plays: Left-handed, men’s division
- Lives: London
- Career Titles (singles): 0
- Career Titles (doubles): 3
- Coach: Katie O’Brien
- Highest Ranking: 64 (July 2013)
- Twitter: @IronSpinePaul
- Current rankings and activity (link opens in new window)
A former England Hockey U18 team member and Loughborough University Student, Paul was injured in a snowboarding accident in in the French Alps in December 2008. He had his introduction to wheelchair tennis whilst in rehabilitation at Stoke Mandeville Spinal Unit in 2009. His first international tournament was at the North West Challenge in Preston in 2011 after beginning wheelchair tennis lessons in 2010.
He also played in four tournaments in the Tennis Foundation Wheelchair Tennis Development Series in 2011, eventually finishing fifth in the men's points standings at the end of the 2011 season. One of the most recent additions to the Tennis Foundation's Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme, Paul ended 2011 with a men's singles world ranking of No. 459, but had improved his ranking 350 places by the end of 2012. Last season he won the men's second draw singles at the British Open and was runner-up in the men's singles and doubles at the Cardiff Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, while also reaching the quarter-finals of the Jerusalem Open.
Paul played in all of Britain's first three world ranking tournaments of 2013, reaching the men's singles quarter-finals at the North West Challenge and the men's singles semi-finals and men's doubles final at the Sheffield Wheelchair Tennis Tournament. Most recently he reached back-to-back men's doubles semi-finals in Turkey in May. Paul partnered fellow Brit Dermot Bailey to the men's doubles final at the Martigny Indoor in late June and then reached the singles semis at the Birrhard Open in early July.
Since his accident in Paul and his family, who have a successful string of National Hunt racehorses, have also embarked on fundraising and awareness for research into spinal injury. In August Paul completed his own IronSpine Challenge, consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile cycle, 26.2 mile (marathon distance) walk and finishing by climbing the 200 foot cliff-face in France, where he was injured in 2008. Paul's IronSpine Challenge raised almost £400,000 for spinal research.
He returned to competition in September and won the men's doubles, partnering fellow Brit Ed Holt, at the ITF Futures Wrexham Tournament in October before winning the men's consolation singles at the Tournoi de Montfermeil in France. He ended October by reaching the singles and doubles second rounds at the Nottingham Indoor.
Paul won the men’s consolation singles at the USN Bolton Arena Indoor in February this year and then won the second ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour title of his career with victory in the men’s doubles at the Turkish Open, where he was also a singles semi-finalist. Paul started the summer by finishing runner-up in the men's doubles at the Open Handisport de Cagnes sur Mer in June and he was then runner-up in the men's consolation singles at the Rezidencija Open in Croatia in July. Paul was a doubles semi-finalist at both the Ath Open and the Flanders 25 in Belgium in August and a singles semi-finalist and doubles finalist at the Wrexham ITF Futures in October, having reached a career best doubles world ranking of No. 54 in September.
Paul won his third international men's doubles title at the ITF Futures Series Sheffield Wheelchair Tennis Tournament in April 2015.
Biography up-to-date as of April 2015
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