Shingo Kunieda: Paralympics as grand as the Slams
As the ITF marks 100 days to go to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, wheelchair tennis world No. 1s Shingo Kunieda, Diede De Groot and Dylan Alcott share their thoughts as the Games move ever closer.
Twice a Paralympic singles champion, Shingo Kunieda credits the third gold medal in his trophy cabinet for setting him on a path towards that once-a-lifetime moment for a lucky cohort of athletes: representing the host nation at an Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“I still can’t imagine how that will feel,” admits the 37-year-old. “Although I have played at four Paralympic Games since Athens 2004, this is the first time I will experience it in my home country. I’m really looking forward to it.”
While those singles triumphs at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 may read higher on his honour roll, Kunieda’s doubles gold, won with compatriot Satoshi Saida on his Paralympic debut, arguably carries more significance – indeed, it is the Paralympic memory closest to his heart before he heads to Tokyo.
“At that point, I was thinking of retiring after those Paralympics,” Kunieda recalls of events 17 years ago. “It costs a large amount of money to play tennis and I didn’t want to be a burden on my parents anymore, so I made my mind to end my career in Athens. Since I got the gold medal in doubles, I had another option as such to continue playing as a pro.”
And with that, Kunieda’s career sparked into life. By the time he headed to Beijing four years later, he had swept the five consecutive Grand Slams of 2007 and 2008, carrying that momentum to the top step of the singles podium and winning bronze in the doubles.
A second singles gold followed in 2012, cementing his status as the front-runner for a third in Rio four years later – plans scuppered by a persistent elbow injury that left his career in jeopardy. Even today, he finds pictures from the 2016 Paralympics painful to look at, despite winning a second doubles bronze with Saida in Rio.
But after a second elbow surgery and an overhaul of his backhand technique to ease pressure on the joint, Kunieda fought back to winning ways, going on to eclipse one of the most impressive records in sport, surpassing the great Esther Vergeer’s tally of 44 Grand Slam singles and doubles titles with his 45th crown at last year’s US Open.
All the while, the Paralympics have loomed on the horizon, by then already delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But then, as now, Kunieda cannot wait for the Games to arrive, both on a personal level and for the sport at large.
“Though the Grand Slams are the biggest tournaments in tennis, I believe the Paralympics are as great as them,” Kunieda said. “Winning gold medals in Athens, Beijing and London has changed my life. Another gold in Tokyo would be massive.”
Beyond the prospect of clinching a fourth Paralympic gold medal in front of his compatriots, Kunieda also hopes the Games leaves a lasting fan legacy for wheelchair tennis, both for himself and his rivals on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour.
“There are many good players, and you can watch their intense matches,” he said. “I hope people will become fans of those players – and of course, I will be happy if people become my fans. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most.
“This will be a big chance to show what wheelchair tennis is to people who have never heard of it. I hope that happens.”