Trophy haul grows as Schroder gets hold of ITF World Champion accolade
Dutchman Sam Schroder has had his first experience of holding an ITF World Champion presented by UNIQLO trophy and it is something he is no doubt keen to experience again.
Schroder was presented with his trophy at the recent BNP Paribas World Team Cup before helping Netherlands to their fourth quad title in five years as the silverware continues to flow for the 25-year-old.
David Wagner of the United States had the honour of handing over the accolade, something he knows all about having been the first quad player to be named ITF World Champion in 2017.
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Symbolic of the quality these players possess, all three wheelchair World Champions from 2024 – Tokito Oda and Diede de Groot being the others – tasted World Team Cup victory after being presented with their trophies.
Their ITF World Champion status, given to the most outstanding players in a given year, relates to their output last season and 2024 was a season in which Schroder once again excelled.
“I am really happy to have received my ITF World Champion trophy,” said Schroder.
“It was a great year, and I was really happy that I was able to finish the year as the world No. 1 as well as winning the Australian Open for the third time in a row. There were also many more great finals.”
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Schroder is very much at home at the Happy Slam and he defeated Guy Sasson of Israel in the 2024 final to complete the hat-trick, although their paths would cross again. Sasson had his revenge at Roland Garros as a Grand Slam singles title on the Parisian clay continues to elude Schroder.
Schroder also suffered defeat in the Wimbledon final to the returning Niels Vink, who also accounted for his fellow countryman in finals at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event and NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters.
The duo would, however, combine to great effect to win Grand Slam doubles titles at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and indeed at the season-ending UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters.
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Schroder and Vink also retained their billing as Paralympic champions after weaving their magic to dispatch Great Britain’s Andy Lapthorne and Greg Slade in the Paris 2024 doubles final.
Schroder won a total of nine titles in 2024, four of which were in singles and five in doubles, while three of the singles triumphs were at Super Series level. All of this was enough for him to finish the year as the top-ranked quad player on the planet.
He is already up and running in 2025 with the Australian Open singles and doubles titles already in his back pocket. The next major challenge is Roland Garros and the latest opportunity to seal that elusive career Grand Slam in singles.
Over to you, Sam.