As a strange, curtailed wheelchair tennis season draws to a close, Japan’s Yui Kamiji ends 2020 with a remarkable record: four Grand Slam titles won and just two matches lost, both in Grand Slam finals.

The world No.2 claimed four singles titles from her five tournaments this season, including the Australian Open and Roland Garros crowns. She ended the year with a 16-1 win-loss record, with sole defeat coming against world No.1 Diede De Groot in the US Open final.

It was a similar story in doubles, where she and Great Britain’s Jordanne Whiley won the Australian Open and US Open titles before being denied a sweep of the three majors on offer as De Groot and Aniek Van Koot came out on top in the final in Paris.

It says something for the standards set by De Groot over the past few seasons that such success was not enough for Kamiji to return to the top the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour singles rankings; indeed, she is the only player to beat Kamiji in singles since Van Koot came out on top at Wimbledon last year.

And it is the sort of form a player can only dream of in a season when your nation is set to host the Paralympic Games. Now for Kamiji, the challenge comes in carrying that momentum into 2021 and all the way to Tokyo, the Japanese capital 500km to the east of her hometown.

“I was born in Hyogo, and I grew up in Akashi city,” said Kamiji, who was born with spina bifida. “When I was a kid, I preferred playing outside over staying inside – instead of doing things such as origami or drawing, I would play tag or dodgeball.

“I used to walk using equipment, so I joined in on almost all sports in phys-ed class. I would also go to the park or community centre on weekends and played badminton, football, basketball – we played various sports. I went to a swimming school, so there were sporting opportunities around me even before I started playing wheelchair tennis.”

At the age of 10, Kamiji found it increasingly difficult to walk. Unable to keep up with her friends, she began to shut herself off from playing outside.

“I started to spend more time alone, and kept saying, ‘It’s okay for me,’ although I wanted to play with someone,” she admits. “My parents noticed my honest feelings, and as they both used to play basketball, I first played wheelchair basketball thanks to them.

“I also tried wheelchair table tennis, wheelchair marathons and many other sports. The problem was that there were no athletes who were a similar age to me. Especially in wheelchair basketball, although it is a team sport, there were only adult players or physically bigger players, so as a small kid I struggled to score during games and felt disappointed.”

The breakthrough came within a year as Kamiji was introduced to tennis by her elder sister, who joined a club shortly after starting secondary school. “I thought, ‘I want to play tennis like her’,” she said.

After growing frustrated with playing the sport on her feet she tried out rallying from a chair to help her chase the ball, finding the movement skills learned from basketball translated from one type of court to another.

The sport also had another appeal: “Tennis is not a contact sport, and regardless of your size, the opponent is on the other side of the net. As long as you hit the ball back over the net, you can play against adult players. This made tennis different to the other sports I had tried.”

Fast-forward 15 years, and Kamiji is one of the world’s elite wheelchair tennis players. The left-hander has held the No.1 ranking in both singles and doubles, and has a combined 24 Grand Slam titles to date; eight in singles, 16 in doubles.

'Having played in two Paralympics, now I understand what the gold medal means, and because of that experience it is an important tournament and title for me​'

In 2013, Kamiji became the first player from outside the Netherlands to win the women's title at the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters since its inception in 1994, a record that still stands today. In total she has three Masters titles, having won back-to-back doubles crowns with Jordanne Whiley in 2013 and 2014, as well as a Paralympic singles bronze medal won at Rio 2016.

It is an elite CV with very few slots left to fill - but while a Wimbledon singles victory would complete her Grand Slam collection, there is one prize she values above all others: Paralympic gold.

“I wouldn’t have watched tennis if I had not started playing wheelchair tennis,” Kamiji admits. “I watched the Paralympic Games before I watched Grand Slams. I cannot say which is more important, but the Paralympics mean a lot to me in my life.

“Having played in two Paralympics, I enjoyed them and was happy to be there. On the other hand, I was gutted that I couldn’t win the gold medal and experienced many different feelings. Now I understand what the gold medal means, and because of that experience, it is an important tournament and title for me.”

Preparations for Tokyo 2020 have placed extra focus on Japan’s tennis stars, from Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori to Kamiji and Shingo Kunieda, a three-time Paralympic gold medallist.

“Compared to them, I am still far from their level, so what I can say is just that I will do my best to follow them,” Kamiji insists. “It would be great if the popularity of the players can help wheelchair tennis grow, and make tennis tournaments more exciting. So, I will work hard to become a better player to be part of that.”

Also driving Kamiji to greater things is the challenge presented by De Groot, three years her junior. Theirs is a quintessential clash of styles: De Groot with her attack-minded powerful game versus the pace and error-averse foundation of Kamiji’s defensive style.

'Diede De Groot makes me feel like I need to practice more as she develops her skills. She is the opponent who encourages me to improve more and adapt to win'

Their head-to-head record has tilted towards the Dutchwoman in recent times – a run of six successive De Groot wins leaves it standing at 17-14 – but the rivalry has driven Kamiji to raise her game.  

“Her playing style is completely different from mine, so I always think how to build up my strategy to play against her,” said the world No.2, who came out on top when they faced off for bronze in Rio four years ago.

“She is a very diligent player and has worked hard to dramatically improve since we faced each other in Rio 2016. She had power at the time but now in addition to the power, she has got an accurate shot and patience. So, she has really improved a lot. She makes me feel like I need to practice more as she develops her skills. She is the opponent who encourages me to improve more and adapt to win.”

It is the mark of champions: despite all the victories, the trophy lifts and medals won, there is always work to be done. One player ahead of her in the ranking, one loss in singles, one loss in doubles – this is what will drive Kamiji through another pre-Paralympic off-season.

“I’ve had good matches and bad matches. But I have never been 100% happy with any match,” Kamiji said. “I will keep working hard to be satisfied with a match one day.”