WOWOW Inc., to include wheelchair tennis in lineup

Japanese broadcaster WOWOW Inc., has announced it will become the first broadcaster in the world to screen all four wheelchair tennis Grand Slam events, starting with next month’s Roland Garros in Paris, France.

WOWOW has a long history of broadcasting Grand Slam tennis tournaments – the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open – especially men’s and women’s singles matches.

Recently, however, WOWOW decided to broadcast Grand Slam wheelchair tennis tournaments as new tennis programmes.

The move will help showcase more of Japan’s top wheelchair tennis players ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Shingo Kunieda is currently ranked No. 1 in the men’s singles, while compatriot Yui Kamiji is also ranked atop in women’s singles and doubles.

Kunieda won the gold medal for men’s doubles at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, and also claimed golds in the singles in the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games. He has won the Grand Slam four times.

Kamiji reached the quarter-final round in women’s singles and doubles in London and became the first Japanese player to be ranked No. 1 in the women’s wheelchair tennis rankings of the International Tennis Federation in 2014. In the same year, she won the Grand Slam in doubles.

WOWOW will feature matches played by both Kunieda and Kamiji, broadcasting them live on its “WOWOW MEMBERS ON DEMAND” channel and later airing them as prerecorded programmes, complete with in-depth, play-by-play commentary.