Shingo Kunieda

The native form of this personal name is Kunieda Shingo. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Shingo Kunieda
国枝 慎吾
Kunieda at the 2011 US Open, New York
Country (sports) Japan
ResidenceChiba, Japan
Born (1984-02-21) February 21, 1984 (age 40)
Tokyo, Japan
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career record493–62 (88.89%)
Career titles50
Highest rankingNo. 1 (9 October 2006)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenW (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2022)
French OpenW (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022)
WimbledonW (2022)
US OpenW (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2021)
Other tournaments
MastersW (2012, 2013, 2014)
Paralympic Games Gold Medal (2008, 2012, 2020)
Doubles
Career record340–82
Career titles51
Highest rankingNo. 1 (21 May 2007)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015)
French OpenW (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019)
WimbledonW (2006, 2013, 2014, 2022)
US OpenW (2007, 2014)
Other doubles tournaments
Masters DoublesW (2012)
Paralympic Games Gold Medal (2004)
Team competitions
World Team Cup2003, 2007
Medal record
Men's wheelchair tennis
Representing  Japan
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Men's doubles
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Men's singles
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Men's singles
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Men's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing Men's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio Men's doubles
FESPIC Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Busan Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2006 Kuala Lumpur Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Kuala Lumpur Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Kuala Lumpur Team
Asian Para Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Guangzhou Singles
Gold medal – first place 2010 Guangzhou Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2014 Incheon Singles
Gold medal – first place 2014 Incheon Doubles

Shingo Kunieda (国枝 慎吾, Kunieda Shingo, born February 21, 1984) is a Japanese former wheelchair tennis player. With four Paralympic gold medals, 28 major singles titles – an all-time record in singles of any tennis discipline – and 50 major titles overall, Kunieda is widely considered the greatest male wheelchair player of all time.[1][2]

Kunieda was the ITF World Champion from 2007 to 2010. He was also the year-end No. 1 in doubles in 2007. In 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2015, Kunieda won all three singles majors that hosted wheelchair singles events (Wimbledon did not do so until 2016). In 2007 and 2008, Kunieda also won three of the four Masters series events. Kunieda is the only male player to retain the men's singles title at the Paralympics – he took the gold medal in 2008, 2012 and 2020. In addition, Kunieda won the gold medal in the 2004 men's doubles, and has been part of two World Team Cup wins. He has 103 career titles over singles and doubles combined, including 50 majors.

Kunieda had a three-year, 106-match consecutive win streak. The streak began after his loss at the 2007 Masters and ended to Stéphane Houdet in the semifinals of the 2010 Masters.[3] In late 2012 to early 2013, Kunieda had a win streak of 44 matches. Between January 2014 and December 2015, Kunieda was on yet another winning streak of 77 matches, ending to Joachim Gérard in the round-robin phase of the 2015 NEC Masters tournament.

Kunieda is a right-handed player whose favorite surface is hard court.[citation needed] He was coached by Hiromichi Maruyama. He announced his retirement in January 2023.[4]

  1. ^ "Wheelchair World No. 1, Shingo Kunieda, looks for 7th US Open title". 5 September 2018.
  2. ^ "The 27-Time Major Winner With a Gap on His Résumé: Wimbledon". The Wall Street Journal. 6 July 2022.
  3. ^ http://www.itftennis.com/media/126768/126768.pdf [dead link]
  4. ^ "Kunieda announces retirement from wheelchair tennis". www.itftennis.com. 22 January 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.