Paralympics: Retiring wheelchair tennis legend Kunieda happy to change perceptions

TOKYO – Japanese Paralympic legend Shingo Kunieda said on Tuesday he was ending his illustrious career, satisfied that wheelchair tennis was now “finally seen as a sport” in the eyes of the public.

Kunieda, known as the Roger Federer of wheelchair tennis, has won 50 Grand Slam titles and four Paralympic gold medals, including a third singles title at the postponed Tokyo Games in 2021.

The 38-year-old, who announced his retirement in January, spent a total of 582 weeks as the men’s world No. 1.

Kunieda said his first Paralympic gold medal, in the men’s doubles at the 2004 Athens Games, was not even reported in the sports pages of Japan’s newspapers, but attitudes have since “changed a lot”.

“After the Tokyo Games, it really felt like it was now being seen as a sport,” he told reporters.

“I had always been trying to get people to think of it as a sport, and last year I didn’t feel the pressure to do that any more.

“Finally, I was able to just purely play tennis and compete against my opponent.”

Kunieda, who was diagnosed with spinal cancer as a child, said he “didn’t even know what the Paralympics were” when he first picked up a racket as an 11-year-old.

He ends his career as one of the Paralympics’ greatest athletes, and was No. 1 in the International Tennis Federation’s year-end rankings 10 times.

He also won all Grand Slam singles titles in the same calendar year five times. The last prize to elude him was the Wimbledon men’s singles title, which was introduced only in 2016. He chalked that off when he beat Britain’s Alfie Hewett in the 2022 final.

“Wimbledon was the last title left for me to win, and after I hit the winning point, I celebrated with my team,” he said.

“The first words that slipped out my mouth were ‘now I retire’, right there on the court.”

The Japanese government is considering giving Kunieda the prestigious People’s Honour Award for achievements in sport, entertainment and culture.

Kunieda, who turned professional in 2009, said he has only a vague idea of what he intends to do next, but he would like to continue contributing to wheelchair tennis.

His 16-year-old Japanese compatriot Tokito Oda lost to Hewett in the Australian Open men’s singles final in January in only his third Grand Slam appearance.

“There are more and more young wheelchair tennis players in Japan, who are playing in world-class matches,” Kunieda said.

“I think I’ve left a bigger footprint than I thought I would when I turned professional.” AFP