Diede de Groot

Diede de Groot (born 19 December 1996 in Woerden, Netherlands) is a Dutch professional wheelchair tennis player who is the current world No. 1 in both singles and doubles.

De Groot is a 42-time major champion, having won a record 23 titles in singles and 19 in doubles. De Groot had a three-year, 145-match, winning streak in singles, from a defeat in February 2021 to Yui Kamiji until a defeat in May 2024 to Li Xiaohui. During this streak she achieved the first calendar-year Super Slam in tennis history by winning all four major titles, the Paralympic gold medal, and the Wheelchair Tennis Masters title in women's singles in 2021. The following year, she became the first player in any discipline of tennis to defend the Grand Slam and win all four majors in two consecutive years, and did so yet again in 2023. At the 2024 French Open, she became the first player ever to achieve the quintuple career Grand Slam.

In doubles, de Groot completed the Grand Slam in 2019, partnering Aniek van Koot. Apart from her major titles, de Groot has won multiple Wheelchair Tennis Masters titles between 2016 and 2018 in both singles and doubles, as well as gold medals in both disciplines at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. She was part of the Dutch team that won the World Team Cup on eight occasions between 2011 and 2019.

Career
De Groot was born with unequal leg length and began her wheelchair tennis career at age seven. She started playing on the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour in 2009 as a junior player. During her time with the ITF, De Groot won the Cruyff Foundation Junior Masters in 2013 in singles and doubles. The following year, she won the 2014 Junior Masters in doubles.

De Groot made her first Grand Slam appearance at the 2017 Australian Open. After placing in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the 2017 French Open, de Groot won her first Grand Slam title at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships. She ended the 2017 Grand Slam tournaments with a finals finish at the 2017 US Open. At the start of 2018, she won the 2018 Australian Open and appeared at the final of the 2018 French Open. For the remaining Grand Slams of 2018, De Groot won the women's singles division at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships and her first US Open singles title at the 2018 US Open. In 2019, de Groot rewon the Australian Open title in singles competition at the 2019 Australian Open. At the 2019 French Open, de Groot completed her career Grand Slam when she won her first French Open singles title. Her French Open title also made de Groot the first wheelchair tennis player to complete a Non-calendar year Grand Slam (win all four Grand Slam singles events in a row, but not in the same year). At the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, de Groot ended her back to back singles wins when she was defeated by Aniek van Koot in the final. In 2021, she won the Wimbledon Single Ladies Wheelchair championship.

In doubles, De Groot was a runner up in the 2017 Australian, French and Wimbledon championships. After winning her first doubles title at the 2017 US Open, she lost at the 2018 Australian Open and co-won the doubles event at the 2018 French Open. De Groot became the first woman in wheelchair tennis to win both the women's singles and doubles events at Wimbledon in July 2018. She won her second US Open doubles title at the 2018 US Open alongside Yui Kamiji. At the 2019 Australian Open, De Groot won her first Australian doubles title with Aniek van Koot alongside her singles title in January 2019. At the following Grand Slams, De Groot and Van Koot won the 2019 doubles titles at the French Open and Wimbledon.

Outside of the Grand Slam tournaments, De Groot competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in singles and doubles competitions. While De Groot did not medal in singles, she won a silver medal in women's doubles. In Masters competitions, De Groot won the 2017 and 2018 Wheelchair Tennis Masters in women's singles. Competing in doubles, she won the 2016 Wheelchair Doubles Masters with Lucy Shuker and the 2017 Wheelchair Doubles Masters alongside Marjolein Buis. She has also appeared at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup in consecutive years from 2011 to 2019. At the World Team Cup, De Groot started as a junior in 2011 before competing a world team competitor in 2012.

De Groot also competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, winning gold medals in both singles and doubles.

De Groot won the singles title at the 2023 European Para Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, defeating compatriot Aniek van Koot in two sets.

2021: Super Slam
In 2021, De Groot earned the calendar year Super Slam, winning singles titles in the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open, the singles gold medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics and the singles titles in the Wheelchair Tennis Masters. She was the first professional wheelchair tennis player to achieve the feat in the history of the sport.

De Groot won her sixth Australian singles title at the 2024 Australian Open, defeating Kamiji in the final in straight sets. It was her 21st singles title at a Grand Slam tournament, equaling a record set by compatriot Esther Vergeer.

Awards and honors
In 2018, de Groot was named ITF World Champion in women's wheelchair tennis. The following year, she was nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability in 2019. In 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 she was again named ITF World Champion.

In 2024, de Groot was awarded the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability, recognizing her outstanding achievements.