Japan’s Tokito Oda and Yui Kamiji Capture Wheelchair Titles at U.S. Open

By Eppe Franklyne

• Oda defeats doubles partner Fernandez in thriller to complete Golden Slam
• Kamiji rallies past China’s Xiaohui Li for 10th Grand Slam singles crown
• Niels Vink wins all-Dutch quad final against Sam Schroder
• Li/Wang and Oda/Fernandez secure doubles titles; juniors also crowned

Tokito Oda and Yui Kamiji delivered a golden day for Japanese wheelchair tennis at the U.S. Open on Saturday, winning the men’s and women’s singles titles in New York.

Oda, 19, overcame doubles partner Gustavo Fernandez in a nail-biting final, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (11), after two hours and 12 minutes of battle. The victory earned him his first U.S. Open singles crown and completed a career Golden Slam, having previously triumphed at Wimbledon, the French Open, the Australian Open, and the Paralympic Games.

“This result is what I imagined every day after Wimbledon,” Oda said. “This match was maybe the craziest of my career.”

A day earlier, Oda and Fernandez had combined to win the men’s wheelchair doubles championship.

On the women’s side, Kamiji staged a stirring comeback to beat China’s Xiaohui Li 0-6, 6-1, 6-3 and secure her 10th Grand Slam singles title.

“It was a little bit tricky match,” Kamiji admitted. “Li has power and a good serve, so it was a struggle at the beginning. But I’m really happy to adjust at the end.”

Elsewhere, top seed Niels Vink claimed the quad singles crown with a 6-1, 7-5 win over fellow Dutchman Sam Schroder.

In doubles, Li partnered with compatriot Ziying Wang to win the women’s event, while Oda and Fernandez prevailed in the men’s.

The junior wheelchair competitions also crowned champions, with American Sabina Czausz winning the girls’ singles and Austria’s Maximilian Taucher taking the boys’ title. Both went on to claim doubles honors as well — Czausz teaming with Seira Matsuoka and Taucher alongside Ruben Harris.