Japanese wheelchair tennis legend Kunieda Shingo says his tennis life was extraordinary. The 38-year-old announced his retirement last month while ranked number one in the world.

He achieved what is known as a career golden slam last year.

Kunieda said, "When I won Wimbledon, the only one of the four major tournaments I had yet to win, the first phrase I uttered on the lawn was: Now I'm going to retire."

Kunieda is among the few players to have won all four of the top tournaments known as grand slams along with a gold medal in the Paralympics.

In all, he has won three Paralympic singles gold medals and 28 grand slams. He says that after last year's US Open, he felt he had done all he had wanted to do. That prompted him to make up his mind to stop competing.

Kunieda says the most impressive moment of his career was when he won the gold in the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021.

Kunieda said, "I can vividly remember the moment when my dream came true at last, eight years after the IOC chose Tokyo as the host city. Looking at the picture of the Games still stirs my emotions. The gold medal meant so much to me."

Kunieda says the level of Japan's wheelchair tennis is high. He says he looks forward to working to develop the sport.

Kunieda said, "I want to support young Japanese players who can make the sport more popular. I also want to be involved in events myself."

Kunieda says he wants to encourage more tennis tournaments to have wheelchair divisions.