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Down but not out

Injuries have kept Brandon Wagner off the pro tennis circuit. Now he's training for a comeback.

By TERRY JONES
Published July 22, 2005

TAMPA PALMS - Injuries have taken more than two years of playing time from Brandon Wagner. Still, the professional tennis player from Tampa Palms is determined to get back on the pro circuit.

Wagner, 24, has been playing competitive tennis since he was 8 years old, and he had an illustrious high school and college career. But injuries to a tendon and a hip slowed him down. These days, he's training daily at the Saddlebrook golf and tennis resort, competing with world-class pros such as Andy Roddick and Olympic silver medalist Mardy Fish.

He's working to regain his form.

He showed promise early. In 1998, when he was a high school junior at Tampa Bay Tech, Wagner defeated the No. 1-ranked player in the state to win the Florida high school individual singles championship.

He chose to bypass prep competition as a high school senior to compete more in the youth circuit of the United States Tennis Association, and in 1999 he won that state championship for 18-year-olds.

His success made him highly recruited by Florida and California colleges, but he chose to sign with the University of Georgia. In his sophomore season for UGA, in 2001, he helped the Bulldogs win the Southeastern Conference and NCAA titles.

In his junior year, he helped the Bulldogs repeat as SEC champs, and the team finished second in the 2002 NCAA tournament.

Wagner decided it was time to go pro. He signed with the SFX Agency and waived his senior season at UGA.

"Then the injuries began," Wagner said. "I injured my patella tendon at the end of 2002 and missed the entire year in 2003. When I started playing again, I injured my hip in 2004, and I am just now training to return in September."

Wagner started playing competitive tennis at the age of 8 in his home state of California. The family moved to Tampa when he was 11, and he won the USTA state championship for ages 11-12 his first year on the youth circuit.

He took two years off from tennis when he was 13 and 14 to give soccer a try. His younger brother Blake, 16, did exceptionally well in soccer and is a member of the USA National Youth Team.

"I soon realized tennis was really my sport, and after that two-year layoff I really got serious," Wagner said. "Almost every weekend I was playing a tournament somewhere."

He spent the summers after his first two years of college competing in Europe.

"I lived in France for two summers and competed in as many tournaments as I could," Wagner said. "Everything, put together, helped me decide to start professional tournaments after my junior season at Georgia. I had a good start. I won my first two futures tournaments, before the tendon injury stopped me."

Wagner said he has confidence in his ability to work his way into the top level in international tennis competition.

"If I can stay healthy," he said, "I feel I can develop a successful professional career."

[Last modified July 21, 2005, 08:57:06]