Diede de Groot won everything in wheelchair tennis.
Three consecutive calendar Grand Slams (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open) from 2021 to 2023; the most wheelchair women’s singles titles in history (23); the Golden Slam three years ago — the four Grand Slam titles, plus gold at the Paralympics postponed by a pandemic in Tokyo, where she defeated the Japanese Yui Kamiji 6-3 7-6 (1).
The Dutch world number 1 is widely regarded as the greatest wheelchair tennis player of all time.
Going into Paris 2024, however, De Groot was in an unfamiliar position: she had never defended a Paralympic title. They are special because they come once every four years.
Not dropping a set en route to Saturday’s final, the 27-year-old again faced Kamiji who, along with her doubles partner Manami Tanaka, upset De Groot and Aniek van Koot in the women’s doubles final 24 hours earlier. It was the first time the Netherlands had not won the women’s doubles since 1992, and Kamiji set out to end the same streak in the women’s singles.
“This (double gold) is the best moment of my career, but that might change,” Kamiji said. “I still have one more match to finish.”
Getting to the top is one thing. Staying there is, according to De Groot, “more difficult”.
The Dutch player trained with male Paralympic compatriots Maikel Scheffers and Ruben Spaargaren, which helped her move faster around the court and hit the ball harder. The most difficult part for De Groot, however, was psychological: the demanding expectations and “dealing with not losing”.
Kamiji beat her in early July at the British Open but before that De Groot had won their previous 29 meetings. Going into the Paralympics, she knew she was the one to beat. “I feel the pressure, all eyes are on me,” De Groot said after her opening win. “I’m used to it but there are 200 times more eyes.”
On Friday, a lively crowd filled Roland Garros’ Court Philippe-Chatrier, the main arena at the complex, with the traditional chants of “Ba, ba, babababa…ole!” echoing round.
To stay focused, De Groot usually focuses on what she wants to do technically or tactically in the match – recording a high percentage of performance or hitting the line. “Take it away from win or lose, and hopefully that will get me through this week,” she said earlier in the competition.
De Groot, who has an aggressive style of play, likes to take the ball early and prevent opponents from building up points. She showed her nerves in the opening set and Kamiji smelled blood, taking a 4-1 lead. De Groot clawed it back, winning the set 6-4.
“Diede, Diedee, Diedee!” chanted spectators, among them clusters of the orange Dutch army.
But in the second set, De Groot made 19 unforced errors and her serve collapsed. After Thursday’s doubles loss, she said a problem with her timing knocked her serving confidence during that match.
De Groot has, in her words, a “complete” game. No outstanding shots, but consistency across the court that manages opponents. If there was anything she could improve on, though, it would be her service. “As a wheelchair tennis player, you’re very vulnerable when you’re serving because you’re still. Whereas for good tennis, because you’re so high up, you can hit the aces and be at an advantage right away.”
In today’s final, she served 17 double faults and allowed Kamiji back in. The Tokyo silver medalist, a good reader of the game and more like a defensive player, according to De Groot, scrapped, got balls back in court and waited for his opponent. make a mistake
Kamiji roared back into the match taking the second set (Elsa/Getty Images)
“Even when I got the chance to take the ball on one bounce and hit it on the other, she was still there,” she said. Kamiji took the second set, 6-3.
At one set apiece, De Groot came flying out of the blocks, hitting three consecutive top-spin backhand return winners down the line in the first three points. But Kamiji held on, and held her serve from three break points down.
Leading 5-4 with De Groot serving, Kamiji hit a brilliant return to bring up three match points. The referee had to silence the crowd. “Ssshhhh!” fans whispered.
You could hear a pin drop.
It summed up De Groot’s day that she doubled to give Kamiji the gold medal.
The Japanese sportswoman put her head in her hands and sobbed with joy. De Groot raced around the net to the other end of the court and hugged her.
“It was hard to recognize at that moment what I had done,” Kamiji said. “I just couldn’t believe it.
“I just can’t describe how big this is. I want to thank my team, family and friends, but also Diede – for fighting for me, for showing people how good wheelchair tennis is.”
Away from the court, De Groot became more involved in organizing wheelchair tennis tournaments, trying to push the sport to the next level. She hugged her parents after the match and, like Kamiji did, cried.
“They were just really proud of me,” she said, tearfully. “They told me that I always wanted wheelchair tennis to grow, for there to be more competition… You’re just going to have to fight for it over and over again.”
De Groot had to settle for silver (Elsa/Getty Images)
Asked if this will sustain her for years to come, De Groot nodded – but “not yet,” she said, wearily. She needs time to process, vacation with her family and reset.
As for Kamiji, smiling through her own tears, she said: “Yesterday, I said it was the best moment of my career, but I also said that might change. It (her singles gold) is the best moment of my career – although that may change in the future.”
(Top photo: De Groot in Saturday’s final at Roland Garros. Elsa/Getty Images)
