The UNIQLO Interview: Joachim Gerard's Paralympic farewell
No player or individual has been the subject of The UNIQLO Interview on more than one occasion. That said, protocol and uniformity are dull and, quite frankly, there is nothing to say we cannot feature Joachim Gerard twice – so we are doing.
The Belgian recently contested his fifth Paralympic Games and, while they were over before they really got started following a second-round loss in the men’s singles, they were significant in numerous ways.
Firstly, and foremost, while it was news that largely went unreported, Gerard confirmed that Paris 2024 would be the last Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event of his long and distinguished career.
That means his 6-3 3-6 6-7(4) loss to Frenchman Gaetan Menguy, with victory seemingly in the palm of his hand after the opening set, was his final act in a Paralympic setting. However, that is not quite the full story.
That defeat came three years to the day since the now 35-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest in the Paralympic Village at the Tokyo 2020 Games, which naturally placed many things into perspective.
“What happened in Tokyo, maybe it had an effect on how I played in Paris because I thought about it on the morning of my match as it was exactly three years since my heart attack,” said Gerard.
“Maybe it was playing on my mind as I was thinking earlier in the day, ‘I might not have been here’. If I had died three years ago, I wouldn’t have had so many good moments. I wouldn’t have seen my daughter, and I always wanted to be a dad.
“I wouldn’t have had the life I have now if I had died, and that’s why I try and enjoy every moment because I know it’s precious. But, at the same time, that’s perhaps why I’m losing some moments on Tour because I am enjoying them less than before.
“I was just disappointed with the way I played in Paris. I was ready to lose in any round at the Paralympics, but I wanted to lose like a good player, but I didn’t play as well as I wanted to. It was sad that I couldn’t play a great game to finish my Paralympic career.”
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Paris 2024 was far from all doom and gloom for Gerard, however, as he was selected as Belgium's flagbearer for the opening ceremony which had wheelchair tennis at its heart.
A record five wheelchair tennis players – Gerard, Great Britain’s Lucy Shuker, Najwa Awane of Morocco, Israeli Adam Berdichevsky and Francisco Cayulef of Chile – all carried the flags of their nations with pride.
Indeed, thousands of athletes paraded down the Champs-Elysees to Place de la Concorde as French President Emmanuel Macron officially declared the 2024 Paralympics open. For Gerard, that was a humbling moment.
“Even for an oldie like me, that was something unbelievable,” added Gerard. “Being at the heart of the Belgian delegation meant a lot to me. It was amazing to be in front of the team.
“I wanted to do something really great on court to show that I deserved that honour, but it was an amazing experience and to say that I entered my fifth Paralympic Games at the head of my country is special.
“I think my face was on the TV for about 10 seconds. I am not the sort of guy who likes to show my face or cares about it being here and there, but I was happy to enjoy the moment. It was a fantastic ceremony in a beautiful place. It was amazing.”
Gerard was just 20 years old when he made his Paralympic debut at the 2008 Games in Beijing and so much has happened in that time – both on and off court.
On it, he has won six Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles and reached No. 1 in the world rankings. Between 2015 and 2019, meanwhile, he won the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters – the year-end singles championships on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour – four times in five years.
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The standout Paralympic moment of his career came in the shadow of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 when he defeated France’s Stephane Houdet to claim bronze.
Gerard, who contracted poliomyelitis when he was nine months old and became paralysed in his right leg, remains the only Belgian wheelchair tennis player to win a Paralympic medal – not that the actual medal means much.
“If we talk about the medal, it’s just an object,” he said. “For me, it doesn’t mean anything. I’m not an object guy. For example, if I have a new car for two months and it gets scratched, I don’t care.
“I don’t care about objects, it’s what they mean to me. When I think about my bronze medal, it’s a souvenir. It’s engraved in my head and in my heart because it was something special. I remember all of this but it’s not an object which reminds me.
“I cross all my fingers that I never have Alzheimer’s because it’s one of the worst illnesses in the world because you forget so many things – so many good things – and I don’t want to forget all these good things, like the bronze.
“I still remember the ball that gave me the opportunity to win it. I actually saw the medal itself a while ago because I was moving from my apartment to a house. It was in a box in a closet which I hadn’t touched for a few years.”
The end of Gerard’s Paralympic career does not trigger the end of his playing days just yet as for the time being he will continue to feature on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour.
That said, it is only a matter of time before a wheelchair tennis stalwart departs the game for good, although nothing can stay the same forever. Gerard has given plenty to the sport – now it seems time for him to enjoy family life.
“Right now, I'm feeling that the tennis doesn't give me as much as it gave me in the past,” he added. “I have a family now and I want to be home more, so I have made the decision to stop in a year.
“The reason it is in a year and not now is because this year is so busy. I didn’t want to finish the Paralympics and then say, ‘right, I have to find a job’. This way gives me some time to think about what I do after tennis.”
If the next year is to be Gerard’s last dance, it would be remiss of The UNIQLO Interview not wish such a wonderful competitor all the best for the next stage of his life. Joachim, thank you for the memories.