Diede De Groot: Para-Tennis Star Claims 15th Consecutive Grand Slam Title

Wheelchair tennis legend Diede De Groot added another feather to her hat as she grabbed the Wimbledon 2024 trophy, marking her 15th consecutive Grand Slam title. The Dutch athlete swerved to a win as she defeated her compatriot Aneik Van Koot 6-4, 6-4 in the finale of the tournament on July 13. De Groot holds the record for the longest Grand Slam wheelchair singles title-winning streak. The 27-year-old surpassed the previous record of 12 titles held by Shingo Kunieda at the 2023 US Open.

Who Is Diede De Groot?

Diede De Groot is ranked World No. 1 in professional wheelchair tennis singles as well as doubles. She is a 42-time major champion, having won a record 23 titles in singles and 19 in doubles in her career. On July 13, she bettered her record for the highest singles wheelchair Grand Slam titles.

She expressed, “This year has been a little bit different than other years where I’ve basically been unbeaten, and then this year I was beaten. So, I know that all of these players are trying their absolute best to beat me, and Aniek was playing very well. I think everyone saw that she was doing the right things."

De Groot, who has been playing wheelchair tennis since she was just seven years old, was reportedly born with unequal leg length. The Woerden-born athlete made her first Grand Slam appearance at the 2017 Australian Open. She won her first Grand Slam title at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships.

De Groot had a three-year 145-match winning streak from February 2021, before her loss to China’s Li Xiaohui at the World Team Cup in May 2024. In 2021, she achieved the first Super Slam in tennis history by winning all four major titles, the Paralympic gold medal, and the Wheelchair Tennis Masters title.

At the 2024 French Open, De Groot made history as the ever to achieve the quintuple career Grand Slam. In doubles, she and her partner Van Koot, whom she defeated in the singles Wimbledon 2024 finale, won multiple laurels including gold medals in both disciplines at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.