Shingo Kunieda

is a Japanese wheelchair tennis player. He is the current world No. 1 in singles. With four Paralympic gold medals, 28 major singles titles – an all-time record in singles of any tennis discipline – and 50 major titles overall, Kunieda is widely considered the greatest male wheelchair player of all time.

Kunieda was the ITF World Champion from 2007 to 2010. He was also the year-end No. 1 in doubles in 2007. In 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2015, Kunieda won all three singles majors that hosted wheelchair singles events (Wimbledon did not do so until 2016). In 2007 and 2008, Kunieda also won three of the four Masters series events. Kunieda is the only player to retain the men's singles title at the Paralympics – he took the gold medal in 2008, 2012 and 2021. In addition, Kunieda won the gold medal in the 2004 men's doubles, and has been part of two World Team Cup wins. He has 103 career titles over singles and doubles combined, including 50 majors.

Kunieda had a three-year, 106-match consecutive win streak. The streak began after his loss at the 2007 Masters and ended to Stéphane Houdet in the semifinals of the 2010 Masters. In late 2012 to early 2013, Kunieda had a win streak of 44 matches. Between January 2014 and December 2015, Kunieda was on yet another winning streak of 77 matches, ending to Joachim Gérard in the round-robin phase of the 2015 NEC Masters tournament.

Kunieda is a right-handed player whose favorite surface is hard court. He is coached by Hiromichi Maruyama.

Biography

Due to a tumor in his spinal cord found when he was 9, he is paralyzed in the lower half of his body. Kunieda uses an Ox Engineering wheelchair.
He graduated from Reitaku University in Japan, and now works for Reitaku University.

Career

2005–2008

Won Prostějov, Daegu, Seoul, First Super Series title in Fukuoka Lost in the semifinals of the US Open despite having three match points. Lost final of USD Open doubles. Won in Atlanta, San Diego and Hiroshima. Runner up at the masters. Loss San Diego with Houdet. Won Hiroshima with Fujimoto. At the Masters lost in the semis with Ammerlaan but went on to claim third. runner up in Nottingham Won Wimbledon. Won Paris Deagu Seoul

Kunieda started 2007 by returning to number one in the world as he won the Australian Open in a three set match. He won the other Masters events at the Grand Slams with titles in Paris and New York. Won in Boca Raton, Fukuoka, Notiingham, Utrecht, San Diego, He also made finals in Sydney, Prostějov, Paris, However he could only reach the semifinals in Atlanta and the Masters. Kunieda finished the year as the World Champion. With Ammerlaan he won Australian Open, their first Masters title as a team. At the other Masters, Kunieda lost in the final of Roland Garros and Wimbledon but won in New York with Saida. With Jeremiasz he won the doubles in Sydney. He also partnered with Saida as they won in Boca Raton, Fukuoka, Paris, Nottingham and Atlanta. Lost in Utrecht and San Diego finals as a team. As a team they could only reach the semifinals at the masters.
Kunieda was part of the Japanese team that won the World Team Cup.

2008 saw Kunieda win both of the Masters titles which were on offer in Melbourne and Paris. Kunieda also won titles in Pensacola, Boca Raton, Fukuoka and Nottingham. At the Paralympics Kunieda won the title. With Saida he won the Australian Open. As a team they also won titles in Pensacola, Boca Raton, Fukuoka, Lost in Nottingham. At the 2008 Paralympics Kunieda and Saida lost in the semifinals but went on to claim the bronze medal. With Scheffers he won Roland Garros. Kunieda made both finals in Sydney but was unable to play in them due to rain. Kunieda was named the ITF World Champion for 2008.

2009–2012

In 2009, Kunieda won the Grand Slam. Kunieda won titles in Sydney, Fukuoka, Nottingham and St Louis. Kunieda was named as the 2009 ITF World Champion. In doubles competitions with Ammerlaan he won the Australian Open. As a team they also won in Sydney and St Louis. They were also finalists at Wimbledon. Won Daegu with Saida Helped team to 4th.

In 2010 Kunieda won both titles in Fukuoka and Paris. Kunieda won both titles in St Louis and won his 100th straight singles match in the process. He also won the singles in Kobe. Won both titles at the Australian Open and Roland Garros; including saving 2 match points in Melbourne to keep the streak going. Won the US Open. Kunieda lost in the semifinals of the doubles masters and masters. Kunieda completed his season by winning two golds at the 2010 Asian Para Games, winning the singles before combining with Saida for the doubles. He finished the year as the ITF World Champion.

2011 saw Kunieda win titles in Sydney, Kobe, Fukuoka and Paris. An elbow injury forced Kunieda to withdraw from both finals of the US Open USTA Wheelchair tennis Championships. At the Grand Slams Kunieda won both titles at the Australian Open. At Roland Garros he lost in the semifinals but won the US Open. Sydney doubles final loss, won Kobe and Japan doubles

Kunieda started his 2012 season with a semifinal showing in the Japan Open. He then guided his country to the semifinals of the World Team Cup. Kunieda lost in the final of Roland Garros but won the doubles. Kunieda got back to winning ways by winning the French Open, where in the semifinals he defeated Houdet 12–10 in a final-set tiebreaker. He also won the Swiss Open and for the fourth time the British Open. He then became the first man to successfully defend the Paralympic Games Men's singles title. At the 2012 Masters Kunieda finally captured the elusive title.

2013-2015

In these years, Kunieda dominated the world of men's singles wheelchair events. In 2013, he started off by winning the APIA Sydney International Wheelchair Open. Then, he won his eighth Australian Open at the 2013 Australian Open, by beating Stéphane Houdet in the final. By doing so, he extended his winning streak to 34 matches. In the Airports Company South Africa SA Open, Kunieda lost in the semifinals to Gordon Reid, thus ending his 44 match winning streak. At the BNP Paribas 2013 Team World Cup, Kunieda won 2 out of 3 matches, including a Group 1 win over Stéphane Houdet. At the 2013 French Open, Kunieda reached his sixth final at the event, but lost to Stéphane Houdet in three tight sets.

Career statistics

Grand Slam performance timeline

Wheelchair singles

Grand Slam Finals

=Wheelchair singles: 35 finals (28 titles, 7 runner-ups)

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References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunieda, Shingo
1984 births
Living people
Japanese male tennis players
Japanese people with disabilities
Wheelchair tennis players
Paralympic wheelchair tennis players of Japan
Paralympic gold medalists for Japan
Paralympic bronze medalists for Japan
Paralympic medalists in wheelchair tennis
Wheelchair tennis players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair tennis players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair tennis players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair tennis players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair tennis players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
Sportspeople from Tokyo
ITF number 1 ranked wheelchair tennis players
ITF World Champions
20th-century Japanese people
21st-century Japanese people