With four Paralympic gold medals, 28 major singles titles – an all-time record in singles of any tennis discipline – and 50 major titles overall, Kunieda is widely considered the greatest male wheelchair player of all time.
Kunieda is the only male player to retain the men's singles title at the Paralympics – he took the gold medal in 2008, 2012 and 2020.
In addition, Kunieda won the gold medal in the 2004 men's doubles, and has been part of two World Team Cup wins.
Between January 2014 and December 2015, Kunieda was on yet another winning streak of 77 matches, ending to Joachim Gérard in the round-robin phase of the 2015 NEC Masters tournament.
[4] Due to a tumor in his spinal cord found when he was 9, he is paralyzed in the lower half of his body.
Won Prostějov,[5] Daegu,[6] Seoul,[7] First Super Series title in Fukuoka [8] Lost in the semifinals of the US Open despite having three match points.
[21][22] Won in Boca Raton,[23] Fukuoka,[24] Notiingham,[25] Utrecht,[26] San Diego,[27] He also made finals in Sydney,[28] Prostějov,[29] Paris,[30] However he could only reach the semifinals in Atlanta and the Masters.
[35] At the other Masters, Kunieda lost in the final of Roland Garros and Wimbledon but won in New York with Saida.
[39] He also partnered with Saida as they won in Boca Raton,[40] Fukuoka,[41] Paris, Nottingham and Atlanta.
[54] As a team they also won titles in Pensacola,[55] Boca Raton,[56] Fukuoka,[57] Lost in Nottingham.
[58] At the 2008 Paralympics Kunieda and Saida lost in the semifinals but went on to claim the bronze medal.
[59] Kunieda made both finals in Sydney but was unable to play in them due to rain.
Won both titles at the Australian Open and Roland Garros; including saving two match points in Melbourne to keep the streak going.
[87][88] An elbow injury forced Kunieda to withdraw from both finals of the US Open USTA Wheelchair tennis Championships.
[101] In these years, Kunieda dominated the world of men's singles wheelchair events.
In the Airports Company South Africa SA Open, Kunieda lost in the semifinals to Gordon Reid, thus ending his 44 match winning streak.
At the BNP Paribas 2013 Team World Cup, Kunieda won 2 out of 3 matches, including a Group 1 win over Stéphane Houdet.
[102] At the 2013 French Open, Kunieda reached his sixth final at the event, but lost to Stéphane Houdet in three tight sets.
[103] In the Tokyo Paralympics, which was held in 2021 due to COVID-19, Kunieda won five matches without dropping a set to win gold in the singles.
In the US Open Kunieda beat Ratzlaff, Reid and Hewett to win his 25th major singles title.
In the 2022 Wimbledon Championships Kunieda beat Egberink and defending champion Gérard to reach the final.
[106] Until 2006, he was ranked around 10th in the world, but with the advice of Anne Quinn, a mental trainer he met at the Australian Open, he started saying "I'm the strongest!"
[107] In order to spread sports for people with disabilities and make it a sport that is enjoyable to watch, we are trying to make plays that were not seen in wheelchair tennis, such as strong topspin backhands and aggressive net play, contributed.