Paralympic champions Oda, Kamiji and Vink triumph at Wheelchair Singles Masters

Paris 2024 wheelchair tennis champions Tokito Oda, Yui Kamiji and Niels Vink won the men’s, women’s and quad titles at the Wheelchair Singles Masters on 17 November, becoming the latest players to secure victory at the International Tennis Federation’s year-end championships in the same season as becoming Paralympic champions. 

In the doubles finals on 16 November, Aniek van Koot and Jiske Griffioen defeated China’s Wang Ziying and Zhu Zhenzhen in straight sets to capture the women’s title. Joachim Gerard and Martin de la Puente won the men's tournament to cap a tremendous first season as a doubles partnership, while Vink and Sam Schroder won their fourth doubles title in a row.

Celebrating a special year

Oda became the second player to win the Paralympic men’s singles gold medal and the Singles Masters in the same year after coming from behind to beat Gordon Reid 2-6, 6-0, 6-2.

“It was really tough for me in the first set because I had some pain in my lower back, so I didn’t play my own game. But from the second set, I was really good,” Oda said. “Now I am going to be (world) number one at the end of the year, so I am happy to get this title.

The Japanese teenager also said that his life has changed after becoming the youngest Paralympic men's singles champion two months ago in Paris.

“Many things have changed around me since Paris,” Oda said. “I’ve enjoyed a lot of things. It was a big thing in Japan. Now I will take some rest from today as I also played the Japan Open after the Paralympics.”

In the women’s singles tournament, two-time Paralympic gold medallist Kamiji fought back from an exemplary first set from home favourite and 2014 champion van Koot to win the final 0-6, 6-4, 6-4. Kamiji won the last five games of the second set and came from a break down when trailing 4-2 in the final set to complete a memorable victory against the Dutch star. 

“My second Singles Masters title, this new trophy felt very heavy after playing for three sets, but I was able to end my final international tournament this year with a win. There were matches in which I was able to improve on the things that I was working on after Paris,” Kamiji wrote on her social media in Japanese.

The all-Dutch quad singles final produced a high-quality contest to thrill the home crowd as Vink and Schroder fought out the title decider for the fourth straight year. It was also a rematch of the Paris 2024 quad singles final which was won by Vink.

In Arnhem, it was Vink who secured a three-set victory and his third Singles Masters title after winning in 2023 and 2021.

“Finished the year in a good way where I beat Sam Schroder 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final after a long fight. Now the season is over it’s time for vacation. Thanks everyone for supporting in this challenging year,” Vink wrote on Instagram.