Name: Shingo Kunieda
Date of Birth: 21/02/1984
Discipline: Wheelchair Tennis
Country: Japan
Competition Dates: 27th August – 4th September
Why he’s one to watch:
Widely considered to be the greatest wheelchair tennis player of all time, Shingo Kunieda comes to his 5th Paralympic Games as the men’s singles world No. 1 and with 5 Paralympic medals (3 gold, 2 bronze) and a record 45 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles.
The 37-year-old will launch a bid to win more gold medals at these games to add to an already illustrious career – and with the Games occurring on home soil, Kunieda (currently captaining the host country’s delegation at the Games) will have the support of his entire country behind him.
Trivia:
- Kunieda went on a three-year winning streak between 2007 and 2010, winning 106 matches consecutively, and had a 77 match streak between 2014 and 2015.
- He is currently the only man to win 2 gold medals in the men’s wheelchair tennis singles, doing so in Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
- He became the first Asian player to reach world No. 1 rank in 2006.
Catch Shingo Kunieda in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics this summer.
