INTERVIEW

Takamuro: My older sister started playing wheelchair tennis before me. I’d played tennis before my disability, but I didn’t have much opportunity to play wheelchair tennis. The first time I played, I played in an open event while accompanying my sister to the court. I realized that’s what I wanted to do. This was seven or eight years ago, so it would have been around fourth grade.

There are three wheelchair tennis classes, including quad. Age and disability don’t matter. I’d played tennis before my disability, so I didn’t really want to play a sport that strayed too far from the standard rules. I wanted to play wheelchair tennis because the specifics like court size and net height are the same as in standard tennis.

Takamuro: I don’t set a definite annual schedule, but first, I decide how much I want to build on my ranking during the year. Then, I look at the tournament schedule and start planning. I pick my own path by checking how many points I can earn by winning each tournament, then I talk to my coach. I usually play in about 15 tournaments in a year.

I was scratched from certain tournaments this year due to sprains and other reasons, but usually I participate in about 10 international tour visits every year. I spend a little more than a week abroad on each visit. Some athletes travel more frequently and stay longer each time, and some live in Europe for that reason. Living in Europe makes it easier to travel between events because it’s one contiguous continent.

If I don’t have a match, I usually practice in the morning, then get therapy or training. I train for about two hours in the gym. I get regular therapy sessions if I feel pain somewhere or have any other conditions. But I’ve been less prone to injury since I started using a treatment device.

Takamuro: I borrowed my sister’s treatment device when I injured my wrist and elbow last year. It felt funny to apply electricity to my body for the first time. My body felt so much better afterward. That was the first time I saw the benefits of using a treatment device.

Because of the nature of wheelchair tennis, I often experience pain in my wrists and elbows. To prevent this, I use the treatment device constantly when I’m flying. Sometimes the next passenger will ask: What’s that? I don’t use it right before a match because it alters body sensation in the part, but I do use it while watching other matches after mine.

I basically use low-frequency waves current to ease pain, then use the microcurrent before sleep. I go home to go to bed right after the day’s matches are finished. I use apply the low-frequency waves current in the car on the way back, and then the microcurrent while asleep. I use the treatment device almost every day. It’s become a part of my routine.

I don’t have a very muscular build, and my muscular strength is really insufficient. I think I need to train a little more, in particular my abdominal muscles and arms. Right now, beyond regular practice, I’m focusing mainly on training. I also want to improve my stamina a bit more.

Many top-ranking athletes are amputees. They may be missing a leg, but they’re able to walk with a prosthetic leg. So their build isn’t all that different from an athlete with no disability. They tend to have the advantage over athletes with disabilities caused by illness. Differences arise naturally in training, too. Athletes overseas tend to have longer arms and legs than Japanese players, and that’s another source of difference. I need to get stronger to overcome these differences.

But I do have my own strengths. As my sense of self-confidence is low, that means I never think I’m a good player, so I never stop practicing. People also compliment me on the speed of my serves, which are faster than those of the current top players. One specific strength is the speed of my forehand. My coach often tells me 30% of my ability is equal to 100% of another player’s. So, my match strategy is to maintain basically a 30-50% level, and then finish up at 100 percent. I plan to achieve my goals by leveraging these strengths and doing what I can to address my weaknesses to the best of my ability.