“I was frustrated with the special rules” and switched from basketball to wheelchair tennis

He loved to be physically active from an early age. His favorite subject was physical education, and he enjoyed swimming, soccer, and playing catch with his friends during breaks and after school. However, because he was born with a disability, it became harder for him to walk as he grew older, and he was forced to use a wheelchair from the fourth grade of elementary school.

The first sport she played in a wheelchair was basketball. “But I was the only one who was small, so we had to follow special rules. If the ball hit the net of the goal, it was considered a goal, and there were low goals called twin goals. It was a kind gesture by everyone, but it was frustrating…”

Later, when her older sister joined the soft tennis club at her junior high school, Uechi also started playing tennis. Her motivation was to play with her sister, but she was drawn to the appeal of tennis. “Unlike basketball, tennis is not a contact sport. Even if you’re small, if you get good at it you can compete on an equal footing with adults. Another appealing thing was that people with various disabilities could play in the same class.”

At the time, Uechi had a strong image of wheelchairs as something that required assistance, and would not have wanted to use one if possible. However, he was captivated by the sight of wheelchair players moving around freely and swiftly. “It was cool. My curiosity got the better of me, and I wondered if I could move and hit the ball the way I wanted if I used a wheelchair.” However, he didn’t want his mother to realize this change, so he remembers saying, “I’ll let you try it out.” “From that moment on, the wheelchair changed from something that required assistance or support to something that expanded possibilities, becoming something cool.”

His competitive spirit blossomed as a junior

Her first tournament was when she was in sixth grade. “I wanted to enter after I got better and was able to win,” she said, but was practically forced to enter by someone from her club. However, in that tournament, she won one game and then two games in the losers’ bracket, which brought her great joy. “All my reluctance disappeared and I thought, ‘I want to play in the tournament!'”

His innate competitive nature was ignited. “I want to beat all my opponents! I want to beat all the competitors! That feeling grew stronger and stronger.” He expanded his field of play from domestic to international competitions, and made his first appearance at the All Japan Championships at age 13. At age 14, he won. From age 15, he began to travel overseas more frequently, and in the blink of an eye, Uechi grew into a player who could compete on the world stage.

Wheelchair tennis player Kunieda Shingo was already renowned as a top player when Uechi started playing tennis. “Every time I stepped up on the big stage, such as in the Grand Slams or the Paralympics, he was always one or two steps ahead of me. But I still saw him as a rival… just in my own opinion (laughs). I wanted to achieve better results than Kunieda, I didn’t want to lose to him, and that was my motivation.”

Although Kunieda has retired, he is still involved in wheelchair tennis in various ways, including coaching the next generation. “I feel encouraged that he still supports me,” he said. His presence is a goal for many athletes and a great encouragement that motivates them to reach even greater heights.