Local tennis legend honored after huge impact on community

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Donald Shapiro’s legacy on two wheels paved the way for hundreds to learn the game of tennis.

Shapiro passed away on Tuesday, and those who knew him say he was an all-around amazing guy.

On Facebook, numerous people are commenting and posting about the impact he had on their lives.

“We lost such an important part of, you know, who we are, as friends, as a family as the tennis community, even in the Augusta area,” said Cole Wooten, close friend to Shapiro.

In 2010, Donald won the Men’s U.S. Open Wheelchair championship, just one of the long list of tournament championships he won over the years.

He also taught at a local tennis clinic where he was able to share his passion with those in wheelchairs and out.

“He was so willing to teach, and to bring people in to teach them and knows that, like, he could use what his circumstance was to help others who had the same circumstances. I mean, I think that speaks a lot to who he is,” said Wooten.

Donald would also visit hospitals and motivate patients, where he met one of his lifelong best friends, Marc Nadel.

“Donald was kinda like a legend in his own time because he was kind of a pioneer. Because with people in sports at the time, you know, when if you were in a wheelchair, typically, we think you’d be more of a participant, you know, more of a spectator, but Donald was a participant,” said Nadel.

He was like a brother to Nadel, a parental figure to Cole, but most of all, a friend to everyone he met.

Wooten said: “The impact he had on not only my life but those around, you know, just the Augusta area and the tennis community that’s gonna last forever.”

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