Diede de Groot had never lost 6-0, 6-0 in her professional career. On Court No. 3 at Wimbledon, Yui Kamiji made that extraordinary scoreline look almost routine.
The Japanese world No. 1 swept all 12 games against the winner of 24 major singles titles, captured her first Wimbledon singles crown and completed the Career Golden Slam. The achievement requires victories at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, plus a Paralympic singles gold medal.
Kamiji, 32, became the first Japanese woman and only the sixth wheelchair tennis player to complete that set. The title was also her 12th major singles triumph.
She had reached two previous Wimbledon finals and lost the 2025 championship match to Ziying Wang. Her 10th appearance at the tournament ended in a completely different way. Kamiji did not survive a tense deciding set or wait for de Groot to fade. As the International Tennis Federation detailed in its account of the final, she seized the contest from the opening game and never released it.
A Final De Groot Had Never Experienced
Blanking any elite opponent is rare. Doing it to de Groot, the dominant player of her era, carries a different weight.
Kamiji won every service game and every return game. The scoreboard offered de Groot no foothold, no brief recovery and no chance to transfer pressure back across the net. Each game pushed the Dutch champion further from the contest until the final became the heaviest loss of her career.
The ITF recorded it as the first 6-0, 6-0 defeat de Groot had suffered in her professional career. That distinction matters because this was not an inexperienced opponent overwhelmed by the occasion. De Groot entered the final with 24 major singles titles and a commanding lead in one of wheelchair tennis’s defining rivalries.
Kamiji also controlled the last point on her own terms. She wanted to finish the match on serve because her Paralympic victory over de Groot in Paris had ended with a double fault from the Dutch player.
At Wimbledon, Kamiji served for the title, then watched de Groot’s return fail to clear the net. The ITF’s report from Court No. 3 noted that Kamiji remained so focused on her shot placement that she was briefly late to realise the match was over.
The Dream That Survived Previous Defeats
Speaking after the final, with the scale of the achievement still sinking in, Kamiji described Wimbledon as the central target of her season.
Yui Kamiji said, “It was a dream of mine to win a career Golden Slam and the Wimbledon title was my biggest aim this year.”
Kamiji made those remarks during her postmatch interview, as she reflected on finally winning the only major singles championship that had remained beyond her reach.
The emotion carried 12 years of major championship history. Kamiji won her first Roland Garros and US Open singles titles in 2014, then added the Australian Open in 2017. Grass remained the unresolved surface.
She reached the Wimbledon final in 2022 and returned to the title match in 2025, only to lose to Wang. Kamiji later admitted that defeat left her deeply disappointed and made the wait for this moment feel even longer.
Rather than allowing that memory to tighten her game, she arrived for the 2026 final focused on one point and one game at a time. The International Paralympic Committee’s profile of her achievement highlighted how that disciplined approach helped prevent the historic stakes from pulling her attention away from the next ball.
That focus produced her cleanest possible answer. Wimbledon was no longer a gap on her record or a yearly test of patience. It became the scene of the most decisive singles victory she has recorded against her greatest rival.
A Rivalry With a Shifting Tide
The lifetime numbers still belong to de Groot. She leads the series between them 49 to 21 and has spent years setting the standard in women’s wheelchair tennis.
Recent major moments, however, have started to lean toward Kamiji. The ITF noted that she has won six of their last nine meetings, including the Paris 2024 Paralympic final and now the Wimbledon final.
Those results have changed the tone of the rivalry. De Groot still owns the stronger overall record, but Kamiji has repeatedly solved her when the stakes have been highest.
Paris supplied the gold medal required for the Golden Slam. Wimbledon supplied the last major title. Both came directly against de Groot, which gives the achievement greater competitive weight than a simple checklist of trophies.
Kamiji did not complete her collection by avoiding the sport’s benchmark. She defeated de Groot on the two stages that mattered most.
Wimbledon Places Kamiji Among the Greats
Kamiji now stands beside de Groot, Shingo Kunieda, Tokito Oda, Dylan Alcott and Niels Vink as the only wheelchair players to complete a singles Career Golden Slam.
Her 12 major singles titles include three Australian Opens, five Roland Garros crowns, three US Opens and this long awaited Wimbledon breakthrough. As the International Paralympic Committee documented, Kamiji secured the Paralympic element by defeating de Groot for singles gold at Paris 2024.
The final score will remain the sharpest part of the story. Kamiji did not edge past a champion with 24 major singles titles. She denied her a single game.
For years, Wimbledon measured what was missing from Kamiji’s career. On July 11, 2026, it measured how completely she had closed the gap.
READ MORE – Nuno Borges Punishes Dimitrov’s Second Serve to Spark Another Bastad Run
FAQs
What is a Career Golden Slam in wheelchair tennis?
A player must win all four major singles titles and a Paralympic singles gold medal during their career.
Who did Yui Kamiji beat in the Wimbledon final?
Kamiji defeated longtime rival Diede de Groot 6-0, 6-0 in the women’s wheelchair singles final.
How many major singles titles has Yui Kamiji won?
Kamiji has won 12 major singles titles, including her first Wimbledon crown in 2026.
Why was Yui Kamiji’s Wimbledon victory historic?
She became the first Japanese woman and the sixth wheelchair tennis player to complete a singles Career Golden Slam.
When did Yui Kamiji win her Paralympic singles gold medal?
She won gold at Paris 2024 by defeating de Groot in a three-set final at Roland Garros.
