Roger Federer (Switzerland), who has won 20 times in men’s singles at the four major tennis tournaments,announced his retirement。
Amidst widespread voices of regret over the retirement of a world-famous tennis legend, Tokyo Paralympic gold medalist and wheelchair tennis player Shingo Kunieda sent a message to Federer.
Kunieda posted the following on his Twitter account on September 16th.
Federer made me love tennis so much. Being able to play together is a lifetime treasure.”
The tweet was accompanied by a two-shot of Federer and Kunieda giving a high-five on the tennis court.
The two have previously teamed up to compete on the same court.
In October 2019, at the Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo,「UNIQLO LifeWear Day Tokyo」was held for the first time. At the event, “New Mixed Doubles” was held by four of the world’s top tennis players. At Kunieda’s request, Federer and Kunieda formed a team to realize their dream match.
The photo that Kunieda shared in this tweet is believed to have been taken at the event.The post reads, “One of the bestSheet””Amazing photo between the best players in history,” commented with delight.
“Isn’t there Kunieda in Japan?”
There is a famous episode in which Federer once praised the achievements of Kunieda.
In 2007, a Japanese reporter became Federer“Why are there no world-class players from the Japanese tennis world?”WhenAsked. Federer responded by saying,
“What are you talking regarding? Kunieda is in Japan, isn’t he?”
Asahi Shimbun DigitalAccording to him, Kei Nishikori, who admired Federer since childhood, also remembers this episode.Nishikori was interviewed by the company“Even Roger knows Mr. Kunieda. I thought it was amazing.”says.
Two legends who respect each other. Kunieda’s words of encouragement were filled with gratitude and respect.
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