Track life beckons as speed king Anker prepares to hang up his racket

As we begin, an ending. The first match of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event was also the last singles encounter of Carlos Anker’s career.

Shortly after being beaten in a far-from-reflective 6-1 6-1 defeat by Japan’s Takashi Sanada in the opening match on Centre Court at Ariake Tennis Park, the 25-year-old Dutchman vowed to take lessons from the experience – then realised that wouldn’t be necessary.

“It was tough, but on the other side I also realise I’m playing the world No. 9, a Japanese guy, a great player,” Anker said. “That he is still able to win the games in which I was up also means he is a great player. I can just clap from him, learn from it… well, actually it was my last singles match of my life, because I’m retiring!”

A former junior world No. 2, Anker will end his 14-year spell in wheelchair tennis after the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. A switch to the athletics track beckons, as he hopes to translate his speed and acceleration – the pillars of his defensive game style – to wheelchair sprinting in the 100m, 200m and 400m.

“As you saw, I’m fast, really fast,” he said in explaining the move. “I have a natural ability to be explosive. I feel like with my natural abilities I have to try to use them in another sport, and wheeling is the perfect sport to try.”

Not just speed, but stamina and focus too. The one ingredient missing against Sanada was the killer instinct to close out games, some of which ran up to 10 minutes long, when he had the chance.

“I felt like I had a lot of opportunities,” he said. “I felt like I was there, and I was winning most of the points when we were playing long rallies. But when I had game points, I didn’t finish enough of them. As you can see, I only made two games, but I think I had seven or eight games where I had game points.”

That leaves the men’s doubles with fellow Dutchman Ruben Spaargaren before he hangs up his racket for good: one life goal achieved, another one waiting in his next journey.

“I’ve been playing wheelchair tennis since I was 11,” said Anker, whose career will end with 10 ITF Futures Series titles to his name – including victory at the 2021 Vilamoura Open, and with him sitting at career-high rankings of No. 30 in singles and No. 20 in doubles.

“I’m 25 now. It was one of my major goals to compete at the Paralympics – I’ve made that one. Another one was to be best in the world. I feel like I’m not going to accomplish that [in wheelchair tennis], but the goal was to be the best in the world in any kind of sport.”

Anker and Spaargaren are the No. 8 seeds in the men’s doubles draw at Tokyo 2020, with a bye to the second round, so his medal aspirations with a racket in hand aren’t done quite yet: “For sure, we’ll be going for the medals,” he said. “We’ll see what it brings us.”

But after that, he’s heading to the track, with his next ambition to return to the Paralympics at Paris 2024.

“Yeah man, for sure!” he said of his prospects. “With the dedication that I have, the hard work that I put in, you’ll see me in Paris.”