Van Koot recovers from serious injury and doubles gloom to seal bronze
Dutchwoman Aniek van Koot shrugged off the disappointment of defeat in the women’s doubles final to dispatch Wang Ziying of China, P.R. and claim bronze in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis women’s singles.
Van Koot and partner Diede de Groot suffered a shock and galling defeat to inspired Japanese duo Yui Kamiji and Manami Tanaka in the women’s doubles. However, Van Koot's pain was assuaged somewhat by victory in the women's singles bronze medal match.
The 30-year-old prevailed 7-6(3) 6-1 to win the seventh Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis medal of her career, which sees her claim sole ownership of second place on the all-time list for most Paralympic medals across wheelchair tennis categories.
Only fellow Dutch superstar Esther Vergeer and American David Wagner have won more – eight. While Van Koot may have wished for slightly more, she views silver and bronze as a more than acceptable medal haul given the circumstances.
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“After the loss of yesterday, I am very pleased and happy with a bronze in singles,” said left-hander Van Koot. “Ziying is a tough player, and I lost the last time I played her at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup.
“It was tough to get over yesterday’s loss in doubles when a gold medal was on the line. I played out numerous super tiebreaks in my dreams – although I wasn’t sleeping very well. But you have to get going and try again. I never go on court to see if I’m going to lose.
“I cried all my tears out after losing to Kamiji in the semis, but this makes up for that.”
Her Parisian medal return is also more than satisfactory in the context of Van Koot requiring hand surgery in March 2023. While she stopped short of saying she had contemplated walking away from wheelchair tennis, it is clear the situation took its toll.
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“Last year, I wasn’t thinking of quitting, but I had a serious operation done and now I am here winning silver and bronze,” said Van Koot, whose right leg was shorter than her left at birth, with a series of corrective operations proving unsuccessful, resutling in amputation.
“Bronze and silver felt a long way away last year. I wasn’t very much enjoying it, but it gave me time to reflect as well. I know that is a cliché, but it did help and it made me appreciate things more.”
Despite snaring seven Paralympic medals over the years, this was Van Koot’s first bronze. Despite a throw-away line about her having something new for her collection, she revealed she does not keep any of her medals in her house.
“I don’t know where the medals are,” said Van Koot. “My parents have a little museum where they store everything. But more than the medals here, it has just been so fantastic to compete on a stage like this in front of family and friends.”