Wheelchair Tennis Player Shingo Kunieda Retires: 50 career wins at 4 major tournaments, 4 gold medals at Paralympics

Last Updated on 01/22/2023 by てんしょく飯

Shingo Kunieda (38=UNIQLO), the world No. 1 wheelchair tennis player in men’s singles and a four-time Paralympic gold medalist, has announced his retirement.

He announced it on his SNS in Japanese and English on January 22, and will hold a press conference on February 7.

Today on Jan. 22, I made a decision to retire.
Thank you, everyone!@UQAmbassadors @yonex_jp @HondaJP @ANA_travel_info @in_jelly_ @reitakuuniv @BNYMellon @NEC_jp_pr @irctire_bike #oxengineering pic.twitter.com/76UVj3LCvd

— 国枝慎吾/Shingo Kunieda (@shingokunieda) January 22, 2023

He has won the four major wheelchair tennis tournaments 50 times, the most in the men’s world history. In the final annual world ranking, he was ranked No. 1 a total of 10 times, including last year. Putting down his racket while remaining the world’s top-ranked player.

He posted a message image on SNS, saying, “I will retire on January 22, 2023. I have been thinking about retirement since after the Tokyo Paralympics, where my dream came true, and after winning the Wimbledon title last year, I felt that I had very little energy left to fight on tour. After winning the Wimbledon title last year, I felt that I had little energy left to compete on the tour.

At the age of 9, she developed a spinal cord tumor that left her paralyzed in the lower half of her body, and at the age of 11, she discovered wheelchair tennis and her talent blossomed. She won three gold medals in singles and one in doubles. In singles, he has won the Australian Open 11 times, the French Open 6 times, the US Open 7 times, and Wimbledon once.

On his racket, he has a tape that reads “I am the best! on his racquet, he has been greedily pursuing victory. In Tokyo 2021, his last Paralympic Games, he won his third gold medal in two games while serving as the leader of the Japanese team. A great Paralympic athlete who gave courage and hope to people from all walks of life with his outstanding skills and strong mentality, he is leaving the court.

◆Shingo Kunieda was born on February 21, 1984 in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture. He competed in five consecutive Paralympic Games. Doubles gold in Athens 2004, bronze in Beijing 2008 and Rio de Janeiro 2016. Singles gold in Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Tokyo 2021. Ranked No. 1 in the world.