Diede de Groot has been the best wheelchair tennis player in the world for the last five years, but on Sunday at the US Open, she sealed her greatest-ever achievement.
The 24-year-old Dutchwoman joined Stefanie Graf as tennis players to complete the Golden Slam, or winning all four majors and the gold medal in the same year, with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 2 seed and longtime rival Yui Kamiji inside Louis Armstrong Stadium.
No wheelchair tennis player had ever before completed the feat, and with just four days between the gold medal match at the Tokyo Paralympics and the start of the US Open, de Groot's road to the finish line was as much a testament to her fitness as her tennis skills.
"I think it really has been the main goal for me over the past few weeks, really. There's a lot of pressure on it. There's a lot of pressure from the outside. You need to manage that. You need to sort of focus on the things that you need to focus on," de Groot said after the match.
"I did that very well this tournament. I think in the final now it sort of showed I was a little bit nervous, I wasn't really I guess on top of my game. I think everyone could see there was pressure to get that Golden Slam. [I'm] so happy to have it.
"I just can't wait to go home, celebrate it with my family, friends, everyone that has supported me in the past few weeks. I know a lot of people have been watching. Seeing as there's a lot of time difference between here and home, and also between Tokyo, I know they've been staying up late in the night."
While de Groot fulfilled her destiny in just 71 minutes in New York, she never would've gotten there if the pair's first meeting at a major this year went differently: at the Australian Open, she beat Kamiji in a 2 hour, 20-minute marathon, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, to win the first leg of the Golden Slam.
"I think looking in the past, Yui and myself have been playing better matches. I think in the past we played better matches. For me the pressure was on. I definitely felt it," de Groot said of Sunday's match.
"I had a little dip of serve in the final. I couldn't really find the rhythm with it. So really I just told myself, It doesn't matter if you lose all of your service games, just play point for point, see how many points you can get in the game.
"As soon as I thought that, you know what, 15-Love, 30-Love. That's why I sort of went from there. I think that has been the way to do it, just focus on what you have to do, not think about the outcome.
"After such a long time of traveling and just being everywhere in the world, also I think both of us are a little bit tired. I think you could see it in the match, unfortunately. I think for me the best part was just to take it."
Ultimately beaten by de Groot in three of the four major finals this year, and the gold medal match in Tokyo, Kamiji lauded the improvements of her longtime rival on the heels of her historic achievement.
"I think she's changed a lot [in the last] few years. I played her for third place in the Paralympic Game in Rio," Kamiji said. "Just after that year, she changed how to practice. She's always on the court until late, [after] everyone [goes] home. Before she had many mistakes, but she started to control herself. She plays well now."
De Groot agreed, and with a dozen Grand Slams won in singles and doubles since losing out on that bronze medal five years ago, her results do too. Coached by Dutch former WTA pro Amanda Hopmans, de Groot first rose to the world No. 1 ranking in March of 2018, and has remained in the top spot ever since.
"Not only have I improved, but I'm also five years older. I think tennis really is a sport where experience means so much," de Groot said. "You can use it in your game. I think not only have I improved my shots, I've also gained so much experience that I can now use it in my matches."
The latest in a long line of Dutch players who've defined the sport, including the legendary Esther Vergeer, de Groot's spot in the all-time annals was already assured even prior to her week in New York. She comes away from this year's US Open with her 23rd and 24th career major titles, having also won the doubles title on Saturday alongside compatriot Aniek van Koot.
"It's just great to see how so many things are possible," she said. "To be the first one to actually get that title is just so special. I don't think I will ever forget that."
