Shingo Kunieda’s athletic career saw him winning 28 grand slam singles titles and a handful of Paralympic Gold Medals, but perhaps the legacy he’s most proud of is the major shift in perception and growth of audience for the sport he helped put on the map: Wheelchair tennis.
One year after he retired from pro tennis, Racquet caught up with him on his first trip to New York as a tourist—before this year he’d only come to the city to play in the US Open—as he was being honored at the annual Japan Day parade, for which he served as Grand Marshall. In case you’re wondering, yes, that is him flanked by the cast of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba at New York’s 2024 Japan Day Parade.