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Nanako Sudo / The Yomiuri Shimbun Tokito Oda hits a powerful shot in the men’s wheelchair tennis singles final in Paris on Saturday.
By Shinpei Matsumoto and Akito Oba / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
17:01 JST, September 9, 2024
Wheelchair tennis player Tokito Oda has become what he dreamed of — “a hero for children battling illnesses” like his own childhood idol, legendary athlete Shingo Kunieda.
The 18-year-old Oda become the youngest-ever Paralympic champion in men’s wheelchair tennis on Saturday, winning the gold medal in the men’s singles at the Paris Games.
The final match had an unexpected development early on, when British rival Alfie Hewett, 26, took a medical timeout. Oda won the first set against a lackluster Hewett but lost the second set after a heated battle. Oda then overcame Hewett’s match point to secure a comeback victory in the final set.
Originally from Ichinomiya in Aichi Prefecture, Oda was diagnosed with bone cancer when he was 9 years old in the third grade of elementary school. Part of his left femur was removed, and he became unable to run on his own.
During his time in the hospital, Oda repeatedly watched a video of Kunieda winning the wheelchair tennis final at the 2012 London Paralympics. Oda admired Kunieda making sharp shots with his nimble chairwork and vowed, “I want to be the best in the world, too.”
He started playing wheelchair tennis at the age of 10, coached by 2021 Tokyo Paralympic bronze medalist Mitsuteru Moroishi, 57.
Moroishi remembered that Oda’s passion to become a good player was clear.
“He was a hard worker who hated to lose,” Moroishi said. “He gets frustrated if there’s something he can’t do and works on it before the next practice.”
Believing that Oda would become a world-class athlete, Moroishi taught him how to behave in public, including how to greet people.
As a junior high school student, Oda traveled abroad as a next-generation athlete designated by his athletic organization. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, which forced tournaments to be canceled one after another, Oda concentrated on strengthening his serve and other basic skills.
He came up with his own style of aggressively attacking from within the baseline, going against the “hit from behind” philosophy that is considered common sense in wheelchair tennis.
Oda missed the Tokyo Paralympics but steadily rose in the world rankings. In April 2022, he announced he was turning pro at the age of 15.
Oda got a phone call in January 2023 from Kunieda, who revealed his retirement and asked Oda to “lead the wheelchair tennis world from now on.” In June that year, Oda won the French Open, becoming the youngest player to win all four major titles and be ranked first in the world at the age of 17 years and 1 month.
For his first Paralympic Games, Oda said: “Fewer people watch the Paralympics compared to the Olympics. I got sick to change that.”
In the final, he endured a heated match that lasted more than 2½ hours, fulfilling his dream from elementary school to “become the world’s No. 1 wheelchair tennis player.”
‘Stay aggressive’
Courtesy of Shunpei Hashimoto Shunpei Hashimoto, left, poses next to Tokito Oda, who was playing at an international tournament, in April 2023 in Hyogo Prefecture.
Junior players who admire Oda were rooting for him, as were his friends.
Shunpei Hashimoto, a second-year junior high school student from Matsuyama, uses a wheelchair due to a congenital disease and started playing tennis at age 5. A big fan of Oda, Hashimoto goes to his matches to cheer him on.
“I want Oda to win the gold medal with his typical aggressive style, going forward even if he makes a mistake,” the 13-year-old said before the final.
At an event in Gifu last summer, Hashimoto learned firsthand from Oda how to improve his explosive power through chairwork. Hashimoto said he has kept Oda’s aggressive style in mind since then.
“I’ll win the national junior championships first and then compete in the Paralympics someday,” Hashimoto said, following in the footsteps of Oda, who was “friendly and kind” to him.
Moroishi said before the final match: “Winning the gold medal will naturally fulfill his dream to ‘bring excitement to the Paralympics.’ I want him to enjoy the big stage.”
A public viewing was held at the Ichinomiya city office, attracting about 200 people.
A high school student who was Oda’s classmate in elementary and junior high school said before the final, “I want him to come back to Ichinomiya with a gold medal.”
