Yui Kamiji completes career Golden Slam with emotional Wimbledon triumph
Japan's Yui Kamiji became the sixth wheelchair tennis player to seal a career Golden Slam in singles 13 Jul 2026
Japan’s Yui Kamiji captured her first Wimbledon singles title on 11 July 2026, defeating longtime rival Diede de Groot and becoming just the sixth wheelchair tennis player to complete a career Golden Slam in singles.
Kamiji defeated the 24-time Grand Slam singles champion 6-0, 6-0 in the women’s wheelchair singles final. The career Golden Slam constitutes titles at all four Grand Slams – Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open – as well as Paralympic gold.
“I am very happy to win all four Grand Slam titles and the career Golden Slam,” Kamiji said, according to World Tennis. “More importantly, I am so happy that I could share the moment with my family, my team and people who have supported me.”
“It was a dream of mine to win a career Golden Slam and the Wimbledon title was my biggest aim this year. I cannot really believe it has happened, but I am going to need more time to process what I have achieved.”
A milestone years in the making
Now 32, Kamiji joins a group of wheelchair tennis players to have completed the career Golden Slam in singles, alongside De Groot, fellow Japanese stars Shingo Kunieda and Tokito Oda, Australia’s Dylan Alcott and the Netherlands’ Niels Vink.
She made her Paralympic debut as a teenager at London 2012. Kamiji claimed her first Grand Slam singles titles in 2014 at Roland Garros and the US Open before adding the Australian Open crown in 2017. Wimbledon had remained the one major title missing from her collection.
After winning Paralympic gold at Paris 2024, also against De Groot in the final, Kamiji came close to completing the Golden Slam at Wimbledon last year, finishing runner-up to China’s Ziying Wang.
“I woke up this morning ready to focus on every point and every game and put everything I have into winning – and I am so pleased I have. I was very disappointed after losing last year’s final and it has felt a long time to this moment.
“I was very emotional after the match. Emotional for the win but also for the way in which I work and those I have worked with. I was having flashbacks to faces I have worked with and who have helped me achieve this.”
Niels Vink moves within one title of Calendar Grand Slam
In the quad wheelchair singles final, Dutch star Niels Vink defeated compatriot Sam Schroder 6-1, 6-3 to secure his third straight Wimbledon final victory over Schroder and claim a 10th Grand Slam singles title.
The victory made Vink only the second wheelchair tennis player in any category to win four consecutive Wimbledon singles titles. It also extended his run to five successive Grand Slam quad singles crowns, a streak that began at Wimbledon in 2025.
Having already won the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, Vink is now one title away from completing a Calendar Grand Slam. A successful defence of his US Open title in September would secure the feat.
“Four Wimbledon titles in a row – that’s crazy,” said Vink, according to World Tennis. “When I won my first, it was already special because Wimbledon is so special. To win it four times – and four in a row – that is insane. Wimbledon really feels like home.
“For me, however, the most important thing is that I am enjoying tennis again because there was a time I was not feeling that well on court. I have now won three Grand Slams this year and need just one more. I am going to try everything to be at my best at the US Open and if I win, I win. If I lose, I lose. We will see.”
Vink also reflected on the influence of former coach Hans-Jurgen Striek, who passed away shortly after the 2025 US Open. Striek had worked with Vink since the Dutchman was 15 years old, guiding his rise to the top of the sport and earning World Tennis Wheelchair Tennis Coach of the Year honours in 2023. Vink is now coached by Alex Gaspa.
Speaking after the final, Vink described a unique feeling that helped carry him through the championship match.
“Last year, Alex was sitting in the same seat as he was today, and Hans was next to him – they looked like Statler and Waldorf from The Muppet Show. I don’t know what it was, but today I had no tension in the match whatsoever.
“I felt I could do whatever I wanted to do and everything I wanted to do was working. I don’t know, it felt as though something was helping me. I am not a believer or anything, but I really felt something.”
Oda celebrates third Wimbledon crown
Tokito Oda added another chapter to his remarkable career by defeating Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett 6-1, 6-1 in the men’s wheelchair singles final to secure a third Wimbledon title. The victory also marked the 10th Grand Slam singles title for the Japanese star, who turned 20 in May.
“In terms of celebrating, I have opened some champagne and shared it with my team. This year, I can drink finally [20 years of age is the legal drinking age in Japan]. It was a great moment to share with my team," Oda told World Tennis.
“Today, I did well. I feel like I could do anything on the court and I could put Alfie behind the court because I was trying to pressure him. I was trying to make it a special match, not just win. Playing my best tennis was my motivation. I gave everything out there.”
Already a Paralympic gold medallist and career Golden Slam winner, Oda continues to add to an extraordinary resume. After winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2026, he is now targeting completing his first Calendar Grand Slam at the US Open.
“I still have one more thing to do – we have the US Open in a few months,” Oda said. “I have one thing left to do this year and I really feel as though I have confidence for the US Open and the hard courts over there.”
The US Open wheelchair tennis competition, the season’s final Grand Slam event, will take place from 8-12 September.
