Shingo Kunieda demos wheelchair tennis in Tokyo

The Japanese public and 2020 Games host city got a glimpse of wheelchair tennis at the Davis Cup from Shingo Kunieda and Sabine Ellerbrock. 17 Sep 2013

A picture of a man in a wheelchair playing tennis

Japan’s Paralympic champion Shingo Kunieda took to the court at the Davis Cup in Tokyo to showcase his sport to his hometown fans.

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By IPC

Kunieda was given a microphone so that he could talk to the crowd as he played, with Japan’s Davis Cup players Kei Nishikori and Go Soeda sitting courtside to watch the demonstration following their own practice.

Japan’s Shingo Kunieda and Germany’s Sabine Ellerbrock showcased wheelchair tennis to the Japanese public with demonstrations taking place at two Davis Cup BNP Paribas playoff events last weekend in Tokyo.

A week after Tokyo was chosen as the host city for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, world No. 1 men’s singles player Kunieda took to the court on Saturday’s (14 September) second day of Japan’s match against Colombia at the Ariake Coliseum, which will host the wheelchair tennis event in 2020.

Kunieda was given a microphone so that he could talk to the crowd as he played, with Japan’s Davis Cup players Kei Nishikori and Go Soeda sitting courtside to watch the demonstration following their own practice.

Ellerbrock, currently the world No. 2 ranked women’s singles wheelchair tennis player, joined German national wheelchair tennis coach Christoph Muller and doubles specialist Andre Begemann on centre court on Friday at the Ratiopharm Arena, Neu-Ulm to showcase the sport ahead of Germany’s match against Brazil.

Begemann tried his hand at wheelchair tennis, helped by Ellerbrock, who also took part in interviews courtside before she moved on to Düsseldorf to play in the German Wheelchair Tennis Championships.

Ellerbrock became German national champion on Sunday (15 September) to complete her busy weekend.