'Great experience for the future': Japan dominate Asian Qualification
A little less than two years ago Yuma Takamuro won the first senior doubles title of her wheelchair tennis career aged 16, at the Kobe Open in Japan. Her partner for the ITF 3 Series event was none other than Yui Kamiji.
Fast forward to early March 2025 and Takamuro and current world No. 1 Kamiji combined to ensure Japan’s women’s team victory at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup Asian Qualification in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Japan's men's team also justified top seeding to progress.
That they were in the position of needing to qualify for the World Group of the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis team event at all this year was the result of Japan not naming its top players for the World Group in 2024 as preparations for the Paris Paralympics took precedence.
Consequently, neither the women’s nor the men’s teams finished high enough to earn direct entry for this year’s World Team Cup.
On the flip side, Kamiji went on to make history twice in Paris, becoming the first non-Dutch player to win the Paralympic women’s singles gold medal and partnered Manami Tanaka to become the first non-Dutch pairing to win the women’s doubles gold medal.
That same week, Takamuro made her own piece of history in New York, winning the girls’ singles and doubles titles at the US Open Junior Wheelchair Tennis Championships. Earlier last season she had also been part of the winning doubles partnership that earned Japan victory in the junior bronze medal play-off at the 2024 BNP Paribas World Team Cup.
Both scenarios carried their own tensions, but playing alongside Kamiji in Colombo hit that little bit differently as top seeds Japan started as warm favourites in the four-nation competition.
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“It was my first time playing in the women’s division at the World Team Cup, so I started out more nervous than enjoying it. But in the end I could manage my nerves and played good matches, so I’m happy,” Takamuro reflected after winning all three of her singles matches and one of her two doubles matches against Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan and India 6-0 6-0.
The remaining doubles match that Kamiji and Takamuro played, against Chinese Taipiei, ended 6-0 6-1.
“It’s great experience for the future. The weather has been a bit difficult, but I’ve learnt a lot. I’ve played with Yui in a tournament back in Japan, but it was my first time playing in this environment so it was good for me to be able to ask Yui questions during our matches.“
Between the ages of three and 12 Takamuro spent half of her current life span paying violin. Wheelchair tennis has given her another string to her bow in recent years and earning qualification for the World Group in Antalya, Turkey in May presents the option of the 18-year-old being selected again for Japan’s women’s team, maybe alongside her older sister Saki, who has twice previously represented Japan in the BNP Paribas World Team Cup.
Japan’s men earn comfortable return to World Group
Daisuke Arai is approaching his 10th year as a wheelchair tennis player and since 2017 he has been a BNP Paribas athlete employee, taking up a new role in 2023 as the Asian-Pacific ambassador for the BNP Paribas Young Talents Japan project, which supports the development of young tennis and wheelchair tennis players.
Arai may now be on his way to representing two-time champions Japan in a fourth BNP Paribas World Team Cup men’s World Group, too, after remaining unbeaten as the men’s top seeds eased to victory at the Asian Qualification following 3-0 wins over India and Pakistan and subsequent 2-0 victories over Iran and Iraq, respectively, in the semi-final and final.
Always looking to inspire others both on and off court, two-time Paralympian Arai lined up alongside multiple Grand Slam doubles finalist and Paralympic medallist Takuya Miki and former BNP Paribas World Team Cup junior gold medallist Shogo Takano as Japan dropped just five games in their round-robin group matches.
Japan then dropped just two games to fellow semi-finalists Iran and earned two more comfortable straight sets singles match wins against Iraq in the final, with Arai beating MA Yousif Hameedi 6-0 7-5 and Miki beating Hussein Hamid Habal 6-2 6-3.
Find all the results from the BNP Paribas World Team Cup Asian Qualification here.