Paris 2024: Emotional Kamiji clinches gold in memorable wheelchair tennis final

Japan’s Yui Kamiji won gold in the women’s wheelchair tennis singles on a very emotional day at Roland Garros. Kamiji, who was moved to tears, won the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 after losing the first set in a tough fight.

Kamiji’s family, the Japanese team, and her supporters were all emotional, and even her opponent, Diede de Groot, was in tears. De Groot, who had been unbeaten for a long time, struggled with double faults during the match.

Kamiji, 30, first competed in the Paralympics in London 2012 and had previously won bronze in Rio 2016 and silver in Tokyo 2020. This time, she came out on top.

Kamiji said, “I still can’t believe it. I’m so happy and thankful to my team, my family, and Diede for showing how great wheelchair tennis is.”

De Groot, who was visibly upset, had also played in the doubles final just a day before, where she and her partner lost to Kamiji and Manami Tanaka. Despite her disappointment, de Groot congratulated Kamiji after the match.

Kamiji praised de Groot, saying, “I appreciate Diede and her team. We’ve faced each other many times, and we always push each other to be better.”

Kamiji started strong with a 4-1 lead but lost the first set. De Groot then took control but struggled with errors, allowing Kamiji to win in the final set.

Kamiji added, “I’m really happy with my performance. I had great support from my team and family, and it feels amazing to end the Games with two gold medals.”

De Groot commented, “I’m sad I couldn’t win gold, but I’m proud of the fight I put up. Yui played really well and didn’t give me any easy points.”

Great Britain Wins Men’s Doubles Gold

In the men’s doubles final, Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid won gold by defeating Japan’s Tokito Oda and Takuya Miki 6-2, 6-1. This was an improvement over their silver medals from Rio and Tokyo.

Hewett and Reid played strongly from the start, and even though the Japanese pair fought hard, the British team won convincingly. The crowd enjoyed several exciting rallies.

Hewett said, “Winning gold has been our dream for years. After two tough losses in the past Games, it feels amazing to finally win.”

Reid added, “We’ve worked hard on our game and on our partnership. We support each other, whether we win or lose, and it helped us win today.”

Hewett and Oda will face off again in the men’s singles final on Saturday.