Schroder primed for latest Vink showdown in Australian Open quad final
At midday on Saturday on Kia Arena in Melbourne, Sam Schroder will be gunning for his fifth consecutive Australian Open quad singles crown.
There have been solo titles too at Wimbledon and the US Open, but this is very much his tournament. For added spice, he will face his former doubles partner Niels Vink, who has dominated the sport outside of Australia for the past few years.
Once you finally get to Melbourne - both Schroder and Vink are based in Netherlands - everything is straightforward, according to Schroder.
“It's always really, really easy to be here, the way it's organised, everything they do for the players is just perfect," said Schroder, who defeated Ahmet Kaplan 6-1 6-4 in the semi-finals. "I feel very relaxed here.”
While the nature of wheelchair tennis across all divisions is evolving into a harder-hitting operation, Schroder is adamant that, at 26 years old, he remains more than comfortable with his own game.
“The level in general has been growing and growing every single year but, if I speak for myself, I was already relatively hard-hitting compared to some of the other quad players," he said.
"But, definitely, I try to be more aggressive as well and try to take time away from people. You see that in the men's side, especially with Tokito Oda as well."
Despite his singles success, particularly in Australia, and doubles joy globally (Schroder has 11 Grand Slam doubles titles across all four Slams, mostly with Vink), he considers his career to be very much in its infancy.
“I hope to be part of this sport for many more years," he said. "Every year, besides trying to perform and trying to win Grand Slams, for me, the number one thing always is to enjoy every single thing that I'm a part of.
“You never really know what can happen. I know that more than anyone and I think that's really the main thing that keeps me going. So I just try to enjoy every single thing.”
Vink leads the head-to-head rivalry 28-14 but Schroder beat him after trailing in the first set during last year's quad final, and he is hoping for a 2026 repeat. Incidentally, they have already played each other twice this month, with a win apiece.
Schroder’s approach to Saturday’s final will be pretty much identical to his approach 12 months ago.
“It worked last year, I don't have any special tricks of my sleeve or anything,” he said,
“We both know what to expect from each other. If I can reach the level that I know I'm able to reach, I am very confident that I can win. So I look forward to doing it tomorrow,” he said.
A full list of results from the 2026 Australian Open Wheelchair Championships is available here.