Diede De Groot: I’ve been training for this for four years
As the ITF marks 100 days to go to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, wheelchair tennis world No. 1s Shingo Kunieda, Diede De Groot and Dylan Alcott share their thoughts as the Games move ever closer.
Women’s world No. 1 Diede De Groot’s first taste of the Paralympics at the age of 15 left a lasting impression, one that has helped propel her to the very top of the game.
“I was in London,” she recalls. “I was there for a Paralympic internship, and I watched every [tennis] match. And not only tennis – I watched table tennis, football, athletics… everything really, and it was so cool. I remember being amazed by everything I saw, and looking around thinking, ‘I want this as well’.”
Nine years on, the 24-year-old has had her sights set on Tokyo ever since her competitive Paralympic debut at Rio 2016, which ended with a silver medal in doubles alongside Marjolein Buis, and the indelible memory of a fourth-place finish in the singles – a result that underscored just how rare the opportunity of reaching a Paralympic podium is for any athlete.
“I remember feeling very relaxed in Rio, except for when it got serious,” said De Groot, who was 19 years old at the time. She lost out to compatriot and eventual champion Jiske Griffioen in a third-set tiebreak in the semi-finals, before falling in the bronze medal match against Japan’s Yui Kamiji.
“When I reached the semi-finals, I felt like, this is it – and that’s a feeling that didn’t help me in that match,” she admits. “And it’s a tournament where you have to wait four years until you get another chance.”
Or five, as things may be in this unique Paralympic cycle. The intervening years have seen De Groot establish herself as the dominant force in women’s wheelchair tennis: the Dutchwoman won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2017, and has racked up 18 since – nine in singles, including the first singles non-calendar year slam in wheelchair tennis history from 2018-2019, and 10 in doubles, including a calendar slam in 2019 alongside compatriot Aniek Van Koot.
The 2020 season started with a shock first-round exit at the Australian Open, with Kamiji winning two of the three majors played in the Covid-19-affected season, but De Groot has re-established her place at the pinnacle of the rankings with victories in the last two hard-court majors, last season’s US Open and the Australian Open in January.
Roland Garros and Wimbledon are rolling into view, but there’s no denying the prospect of the Paralympics looms large on the horizon for the world’s elite wheelchair tennis players – not least De Groot.
“It will be my second Paralympics – I’ve trained for it really hard – I’ve trained for four years,” De Groot says with emphasis.
This time, there will be no waiting for things to get serious. With her touch, angles and defensive nous, Kamiji has emerged as a contrasting foil for De Groot’s all-action aggressive style at the top of the rankings, pushing De Groot to a third-set tiebreak at Melbourne Park at the start of the season, while Van Koot proved her ability to win when it matters by ending her compatriot and doubles partner’s run of consecutive singles majors at Wimbledon in 2019.
“I definitely think Yui is a very good contender,” De Groot said. “Of course, she’s playing in front of the home crowd. Aniek will be up there, myself hopefully, and there will be a few more that are definitely able to compete and do well. There’s a few players that are really good at the moment.”
As for her own approach to the Games and her quest for the one accolade missing from her burgeoning CV, De Groot insists she will embrace the moment – there will be no trying to pretend this is just another tennis event.
“I’m looking forward to playing there and feeling that it’s the Paralympics, that special feeling when you get goosebumps when you enter the court,” she said. “And to really enjoy that moment of playing a tournament that’s every four years.”