In an emotional and memorable afternoon at Roland Garros, Japan’s Yui Kamiji clinched the women’s wheelchair tennis singles gold medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Overcome with emotion, tears streamed down Kamiji’s face as she secured a hard-fought victory, battling back from a tense first-set loss to defeat her opponent, Diede de Groot, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The support from her family, the Japanese team, and fans in the stands added to the emotional intensity of the moment. Tears also flowed for De Groot, who entered the match as the overwhelming favorite, maintaining an unbeaten streak of 145 matches until May of this year. However, her struggles with double faults ultimately cost her the gold.
Kamiji, now 30 years old, first made her Paralympic debut at the London 2012 Games as a teenager, where she reached the quarterfinals. After defeating De Groot, She claimed bronze in the 2016 Rio Games but fell short in the Tokyo 2020 final, where De Groot claimed victory. Today, however, was Kamiji’s moment to shine. Despite a strong start, it seemed De Groot’s impressive returns might outplay her, but Kamiji fought back in the deciding set.
“I still can’t think straight,” Kamiji said, catching her breath after the intense match. “It’s hard to describe how much this means to me. Of course, I’m happy. I want to thank my team, my family, and friends. And to Diede, thank you for battling with me and for showing the world how incredible wheelchair tennis and women’s singles are.”
Kamiji’s praise for De Groot continued, despite the Dutch star’s disappointment over the result and the subsequent medal ceremony. Just 24 hours earlier, Kamiji and Manami Tanaka defeated De Groot and Aniek van Koot in the doubles final, leaving De Groot without a gold medal in Paris, a surprising outcome for someone considered one of the best in the world. However, De Groot showed sportsmanship by embracing Kamiji first at the end of the match.
“I’m truly grateful,” Kamiji reflected. “I was so overwhelmed in that moment. It’s hard to believe what I just accomplished. I can’t quite wrap my head around it.”
Kamiji added, “Diede and I have faced each other so many times. We’ve always pushed each other. We’ve shared some big stages, and I’m sure there will be more to come.”
Kamiji initially led 4-1, but De Groot, who won her first 10 breakpoints, claimed the first set and seemed to have control of the second. Yet De Groot’s issues with double faults persisted, while Kamiji’s strength and confidence grew. The match concluded with De Groot’s 17th double fault, leaving emotions running high.
“In the end, I’m really proud of myself,” Kamiji said. “I led 4-1 in the first set, but Diede fought back so well. My team, family, and friends kept me motivated, and in the end, I pushed myself to do it.”
“I’ve truly enjoyed these two weeks in Paris, and it’s amazing to come away with two gold medals.”
De Groot graciously admitted her disappointment: “I’m really sorry I couldn’t win the gold. Yesterday’s doubles match was already tough. We fought for three hours, and there were a lot of expectations on me.”
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t meet those expectations. It’s incredibly sad, but I’m proud of my effort today. Yui played incredibly well. She didn’t give me any chances. She kept returning everything, and I just couldn’t find a way through.”
In the men’s doubles final, British duo Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid captured gold with a commanding 6-2, 6-1 victory over Japan’s Tokito Oda and Takuya Miki. This marked a step up from their silver medals in Rio and Tokyo. Hewett and Reid dominated from the start, even as the Japanese pair narrowed the gap to 3-2 in the first set. The British duo impressively won the last three games.
Despite their opponents’ flashes of brilliance, Hewett and Reid maintained their dominance in the second set, much to the delight of the enthusiastic crowd.
“This has been a dream of ours for many years,” Hewett said. “We’ve had heartbreaking moments in the last two Paralympics, so to finally achieve this result is a testament to our hard work and the dedication of our team.”
Reid added, “We’ve invested so much time and energy into this partnership, both on and off the court. The way we support and motivate each other has been a big part of our success over the years.”
“Every time we finish a match or a tournament, win or lose, we always strive to improve and take the next step forward. Today, we did just that.”
Hewett and Oda will face each other again on Saturday in the men’s singles final.
