Salem man racks up trophies and travel in senior tennis
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Paul Wulf has lived most of his life in the Bush’s Pasture Park neighborhood. He was born at Salem Hospital, grew up on nearby High Street SE, and for the past 37 years has lived in a home on the same street.
“I haven’t ventured very far,” Wulf said.
That was before he started playing senior tennis, which has provided him and his wife, Cheri, opportunities to travel the world.
He has already competed this year at the national hard court championships in California, national indoor championships in Texas, and international club events in Ireland and England. Still to come are the national grass court championships in Pennsylvania, the national clay court championships in Florida, and the world team championships in Spain.
“That’s out of the ordinary,” Wulf said of his jet-setting 2023 schedule. “You don’t have to spend this much money. There are tournaments to play around here.
“But it has exposed us to places we never would have been.”
He and his wife make time for sightseeing between matches or after tournaments.
After recently playing in England, they attended opening day at Wimbledon, watching Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz win opening-round matches.
When they travel in October to Mallorca, Spain, for the world championships, they plan to do something special to celebrate their 47th wedding anniversary.
Roots of the game from DNA, South Salem and OSU
Wulf wasn’t born with a tennis racket in hand, but participating in the sport was expected of him and his three older brothers. His parents urged them to pursue lifelong sports such as tennis, swimming and skiing.
His mother, Pauline Findley Wulf, had a tennis background. She played No. 1 singles and doubles in the late 1920s for the Willamette University women’s tennis team and never lost a match during the 1927-28 season.
Wulf learned nuances of the game playing against his mom on the courts at Bush’s Pasture Park. He couldn’t beat her until he was a teenager and she was in her 50s.
He went on to play at South Salem High School and Oregon State University, where he was good but not great. He didn’t play No. 1 singles at South until his senior year and never played higher than No. 4 at OSU.
Then he hung up his racket while he and his wife raised their two children.
Bookshelves overflow with gold ball trophies
Wulf’s success has come at the senior level, where he has been playing since 2004.
He won his first national title within three years, teaming up with doubles partner Len Wofford of Portland in the 55+ division. He won his first national singles title in 2011 in the 60+ division.
Wulf has since stockpiled 25 gold balls, the coveted first-place trophies awarded for national age-division titles in the United States Tennis Association.
The gold-plated bronze balls, about the size of a marble, are presented in a custom-made box with the USTA logo etched on a glass door and an engraved plate inside describing the achievement.
Wulf’s gold balls and other awards fill multiple bookshelves in…
Read More: Salem man racks up trophies and travel in senior tennis 2023-08-02 13:04:30