Diede de Groot: 'I have a pretty big target on my back' at Australian Open

At least two dozen entrants from the Australian Open Wheelchair Championship turned out on the sprawling Kia Arena on Sunday morning to mark the draw in the singles and quads events. It was hot and sunny and sparkling, a few hundred fans in the stands already and Australia at its best. 

An hour later play was delayed on all outside courts as rain, and no little wind, descended upon a suddenly dark Melbourne Park.

But for the wheelchair ceremony, the setting was nothing less than sumptuous with the all-conquering Diede De Groot - last year’s women’s singles grand slam victor and the holder of an astonishing 20 singles and 17 doubles majors - as unassuming as ever as she addressed the media throng.

“I have already been tested this month,“ she said referring to the 28-player Melbourne Open she won last week. “I have a pretty big target on my back and I am hoping I can play my best tennis here.”

First Grand Slam of 2024

De Groot opened the tournament on a winning note, beating Great Britain’s Lucy Shuker 6-3, 6-1, in 58 minutes, on Tuesday, 23 January. Shuker, the 12th-ranked player in the world, now has a 4-17 record against de Groot. Shuker’s last win came in March 2016 in the Cajun Classic in the USA.

There are four seeds in the 16 player women’s singles draw with the No. 2 player, Japan’s Yui Kamiji - who saw off Shuker 6-0, 6-0, in the first round of last year’s Australia Open - played Lizzy De Greef from the Netherlands first.

In their first meeting, Kamiji, the silver medallist in the women's singles at Tokyo 2020, defeated 19-year-old De Greef 6-0, 6-1. 

Sam Schroder, the defending quad’s champion, yet another Dutch player who is fluent and engaging in English, was looking forward to getting started at the Australian Open. He faced Ymanitu Silva of Brazil in his first-round match.

“It’s great to be back in Australia, I feel very at home here. It’s amazing to play on these great arenas,” said Schroder.

Key to success

Defending men’s singles champion Alfie Hewett spent two weeks in Australia before playing at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.

Preparation is key he said, particularly in the heat.

“It’s something we have to get used to over our careers. Being from the UK, the hot weather doesn’t come around that often,” he said.

“We are accustomed to it now, it’s why we get out here so early to train in it as much as possible. It’s something you have to manage with your coping strategies, ice towels and hydration etc.”

Expanding the singles draw to 16 players two years ago has proved a great steppingstone for wheelchair tennis, he said.

"It was an eight player draw previous to that so that’s going to help the exposure of our sport and give more players the chance to have that experience.”

Hewett is ready to showcase the best of wheelchair tennis on a surface (cushion acrylic hard courts) that he loves.

“My movement is one of my strengths and this allows me to be able to turn defense into attack and vice versa. I can push smoothly around the courts. 

“With grass and clay, my shoulders don’t appreciate the work that they have to go through those couple of weeks. These courts lead to a better showcase of our sport with more rallies.”

While singles has been wonderful to Hewett - a staggering 58 titles in all tournaments - it is doubles, and his partnership with Gordon Reid that occupies a good part of his heart.

“The doubles is the best spectacle in wheelchair tennis. There’s a lot more rallies, a lot more going on and there’s something quite majestic about the movement if you watch it. There’s a lot of players coming in and out and you have to make use of all areas of the court and not just camp at the net.”

The Australian Open Wheelchair Championships started on 23 January. The men's, women's and quad wheelchair tennis singles final will take place on 27 January.