'This one is for him': Vink celebrates career Golden Slam in style

A mere second or two after Niels Vink forced his opponent Sam Schroder into a backhand error to win the Australian Open quad singles final, there was an abiding image that will be beamed around the world. 

Vink, the 23-year-old Dutch player whose legs were amputated when he was just one-year-old after a bout of meningococcal septicemia, hurled himself out of his wheelchair and lay motionless on the floor of Kia Arena for a good 10 seconds.

No-one seemed to know what to do, the hush smothering and increasingly uneasy before Vink pulled himself up and leveraged himself back into his chair.

He then produced a black and white photo of himself as a young player with his former long-term coach Hans Jurgen Striek.

Striek, for those who do not know, had mentored Vink since he was 15 but passed away shortly after last year’s US Open, where Vink claimed the singles crown. There was deep emotion with this his first Grand Slam title since.

It was an extraordinary moment, the 6-3 7-6(5) win gave Vink a clean sweep of the trophies that matter most: Australia Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open together with the Paralympics – the much-coveted Golden Slam. 

Vink becomes the fifth player to complete the career Golden Slam in wheelchair singles after Dylan Alcott, Diede de Groot, Shingo Kunieda and Tokito Oda.

“This was the only one missing," said Vink. "This one was already a dream last year and then Sam (Schroder) was better in the 2025 final. But, today, I finally have it. It’s amazing.

“I was feeling that I had to strap out,” he added in reference to his spur of the moment leap out of his chair.

"Otherwise, I was going to fall forward. So I thought, ‘okay, let's go’. Then, the feeling was so good. I was so happy and so happy that it was finished, because I was also very nervous. Maybe you could see it.

“Because we started the journey together, and we wanted to finish it, and in our eyes finish it by winning them all. But, sadly, Hans didn't make this one but he's still here. This one, for sure, is for him.”

The death of his mentor has changed the way Vink looks at life.

“Since Hans passed away, I have a different vision," he said. "I want to enjoy on the court and, of course, I want to win everything. But I remember last year I had to win for myself.

“Now, let's see how it goes. I want to enjoy it. If I win, nice. If I don't win, okay. I could be happy if I had fun on the court and, today, I had fun and I have this bad boy [his latest Australian Open trophy].

“It’s my first Grand Slam without Hans, so that's also very emotional.”

Schroder too was deeply emotional and had tears in his eyes. Following a hugely successful doubles career with Vink, they split up a year ago and the deeply likeable Schroder, who had won the last four quad singles titles in Melbourne, appeared distraught at the loss.

“Sam is an amazing person," said Vink. "He won this one four times in a row, which is insane. I always said to Hans that Sam is like a monster here in Australia. He's always so good. I remember last year I was leading 5-2, and out of nowhere it was boom, boom, boom – 7-5 for him.

“This tournament is also, I think, his favourite surface and his favourite tournament, so it feels amazing to finally beat him here.”

There will be "crazy" celebrations tonight, according to Vink. "And a few beers," he smiled.

A full list of results from the 2026 Australian Open Wheelchair Championships is available here.