The 21st century
Japan · born Kikuyō, Kumamoto, 1996 · right-handed · Paralympic doubles champion 2024
All playersBack to the rankings
10-8
Match tiebreak that won Paralympic gold, 2024
32
Years of Dutch Paralympic doubles golds ended
7
Career-high singles ranking, January 2023
2025
British Open doubles title on grass
Born in Kikuyō, Kumamoto, in 1996, Tanaka took up wheelchair tennis at high school and turned professional in 2014. She made her Paralympic debut at Tokyo 2020. At the 2023 Australian Open she beat Aniek van Koot from a set down to reach the singles semi-finals, and that January reached career highs of No. 7 in singles and No. 6 in doubles. At the Paris Paralympics in 2024 she and Yui Kamiji won the women's doubles, the first Paralympic wheelchair tennis gold won by Japanese women. In 2025 she reached the Australian Open doubles final with Zhu Zhenzhen, won the British Open doubles on grass with her, and in October took the Japan Open singles title, beating Saki Takamuro 6-4, 6-2.
| Other grass doubles titles | 1: British Open (2025) |
|---|---|
| British Open, Roehampton | Doubles champion 2025 with Zhu Zhenzhen: beat Wang Ziying and Li Xiaohui, the Australian Open champions, 6-7, 6-3, 10-6 |
| Wimbledon | Debut 2025: first round in singles, quarter-finals in doubles |
"I am still in a dream."
The person behind the player.
Melbourne 2023 · Quarter-final
Ranked No. 9, she lost the first set to world No. 3 Aniek van Koot 6-1, then changed plan. "In the first set today I made many mistakes so I just thought before the second set 'just make her move'," she said. "I didn't try to make too many winners." She won 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 and reached the semi-finals.
Source: ITFParis 2024 · Doubles final
Dutch pairs had won every Paralympic women's doubles gold since wheelchair tennis became a full medal sport in 1992. Tanaka and Kamiji lost the first set to De Groot and van Koot, took the second on a tiebreak, and won the first match tiebreak ever played in the final, 10-8. Tanaka was in tears. "I am still in a dream," she said.
Source: ITFKikuyō 2024
In her home town of Kikuyō, in Kumamoto, people gathered to watch the Paris final on a screen at the town's disaster prevention centre. When the last point went in, the room erupted with shouts of "Well done!" and "Thank you for the emotion!" Governor Kimura of Kumamoto issued a comment thanking her for bringing "courage and emotion" to the prefecture.
Source: Kumamoto Nichinichi ShimbunRoehampton 2025 · Final
In January she and Zhu Zhenzhen had lost the Australian Open final 2-6, 3-6 to Li Xiaohui and Wang Ziying. They met again in the British Open final on the grass at Roehampton in July. Tanaka and Zhu lost a first-set tiebreak, then won 6-3 and took the match tiebreak 10-6 for her first grass title.
Source: LTAJapan Open 2025 · Final
The singles final at the Japan Open was against Saki Takamuro, ranked one place below her and a regular training partner. Tanaka said their sessions together helped both of them against international players, and added: "If I move up, I also hope she can rise with me." She won 6-4, 6-2 and admitted to relief after a year spent concentrating on doubles.
Source: Japan OpenFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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