Australian Open: Wheelchair tennis ace Shingo Kunieda retires

The most successful player in the history of wheelchair tennis, Shingo Kunieda, announced that he will retire from the sport on Sunday at the age of 38.

Top-ranked Kunieda won 28 Grand Slam singles titles and completed a career Grand Slam at all four majors when she won Wimbledon in 2022.

I have been thinking about retirement since my dream came true at the Tokyo Paralympics, the Japanese player said on social media. Last year, the Wimbledon singles championship made me feel for the first time that I had little energy left to compete.

After overseeing the (ITF) World Championship for the 10th time, I felt I had done enough in what I wanted to achieve and I thought it was the right time to retire.

Kunieda won 11 Australian Open titles, eight victories at both Roland-Garros and the US Open, and one Wimbledon title.

He also won 22 Grand Slam tournaments and three singles gold medals at the Paralympics in 2008, 2012 and Tokyo in 2021. He won the doubles gold medal in 2004.