Paralympic debutant Oda keen to assert himself as the king of clay
A phrase often heard at Paralympic Games is Golden Slam as the cream of the wheelchair tennis crop go in search of the final piece of the silverware jigsaw and bid to complete their trophy haul.
It also places them in a pantheon of greats where they can rub shoulders with the best of the best, and while Japan’s Tokito Oda is not in Golden Slam territory quite yet, he is not doing too badly.
Despite being just 18, Oda has already won Grand Slam men’s singles titles at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and on his Paralympic debut he will go in search of a much-coveted gold medal.
Dubbed the heir to Shingo Kunieda, who won six Paralympic medals (four golds and two bronze) during a glittering and show-shopping career, Oda’s focus on Paralympic glory began some time ago. This is an extract from an interview with itftennis.com prior to Tokyo 2020.
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“I’m only thinking about winning the Paris Paralympics,” revealed a then 15-year-old Oda, who began using a wheelchair after he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his left hip when he was nine years old.
“I will be 18 at Paris 2024, which still seems young in the eyes of the world, but I want to establish my own tennis style and create a unique style of play before I reach that age.”
Revealing stuff. Since then, he has won a plethora of major titles and snared copious age-related records, including becoming the youngest man to win a Grand Slam of any discipline in the Open Era.
He has also been celebrated as the men’s world No.1 in the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis World Rankings, but perhaps his most relevant achievements, considering the context, are his back-to-back Roland Garros titles.
For the first time, a Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event is being played at a Grand Slam event and Roland Garros is somewhere Ichinomiya-born Oda knows incredibly well after triumphing here in 2023 and in June this year.
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Dig a little deeper and Oda’s record on clay is mightily impressive. Since the start of the 2023 season, he has lost just two matches on the surface and claimed 23 match-wins from a possible 25.
That said, Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett, who is the current world No. 1 in the men’s division, has only lost five matches on clay in the same time period – and actually won more – although Oda’s stats remain fearsome. And he knows it.
“It is going to be hard, but I really enjoy playing here on the clay courts – I am going to enjoy this competition,” he said. “This last two years, I have only lost a couple of matches on clay and I am really confident with my tennis on clay.
“We don’t get many chances to make our mark at the Paralympics and this is my first time, so it will be a big memory for me. I already have good memories of Paris, and I am going to enjoy it here. I am also going to go for it.”
If he does replicate his clay-court and Roland Garros success of recent times, Oda will become the youngest men’s gold medallist in the history of Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis. That would be another hit in an already imposing back catalogue.