TOKYO — Team Yonex had a historic year at the Grand Slams with Marketa Vondrousova (CZE), Diede de Groot (NED) and Tokito Oda (JPN) all achieving unprecedented feats with their Yonex racquets.
While Vondrousova became the first unseeded woman in history to win a Wimbledon singles title, de Groot took all four wheelchair women’s singles Grand Slams for an astonishing third year in a row. In a breakthrough season like no other, 17-year-old Oda won the Roland-Garros wheelchair men’s singles title to become the youngest male Grand Slam champion in history in any discipline. Just a few weeks later, Oda also became the youngest man in history to win a Wimbledon title.
Vondrousova’s “crazy” Wimbledon victory
“Tennis is crazy,” the Yonex ambassador said after winning her first Grand Slam title and lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish, a victory that also made her the lowest ranked champion since the introduction of the WTA Rankings in 1975. Before the 2023 tournament, the left-handed Czech had only won one match at Wimbledon, and she
thought that playing on grass was “impossible”. But with every match she won, Vondrousova became more confident and composed on the surface. It was the second year in a row that a Team Yonex star had won the Wimbledon title after Elena Rybakina (KAZ) in 2022.
Dominant de Groot
From Melbourne to Paris to London to New York, de Groot was unstoppable once again, winning all four Grand Slams in a season for the third year in a row. The Dutchwoman’s victory at the US Open meant she had won the last 12 majors and expanded her collection of Grand Slam singles titles to 20.
Oda “living the dream”
Wherever you looked in 2023, it seemed as though someone was achieving history with a Yonex racquet. A month after turning 17, Oda had the happiest day of his life when he won the Roland-Garros title and in doing so also became the world No. 1 while after his victory at Wimbledon the teenager said he was “living the dream”.
Rybakina and Ruud in Grand Slam finals
Rybakina reaching a first Australian Open women’s singles final was among the highlights for Team Yonex in 2023, a year in which Casper Ruud (NOR) also appeared in the final at Roland-Garros for the second season in succession. That was a third career Grand Slam final for Ruud, a head-to-toe Yonex ambassador who also reached that stage of the 2022 US Open, and who has dreams of becoming the first Norwegian to win a major title.
Breakthrough year for Shelton
Ben Shelton (USA) was another of Team Yonex’s history-makers at the 2023 Grand Slams, with the 20-year-old becoming the youngest American man to make the semi- finals of the US Open for 31 years. That came after Shelton’s run to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, on what was his first trip outside the United States.
World’s top players and juniors are choosing Yonex racquets
Yonex is proud that many of the world’s top players are choosing to play with Yonex racquets. Yonex supported 57 players in the main singles draws of the 2023 US Open, with the brand ranked second for usage. The next generation of players is also choosing Yonex racquets, and for the first time, Yonex is the No.1 brand for juniors.
Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) | EZONE 100 [LINK] / POLYTOUR AIR 125 [LINK]
Diede de Groot (NED) | VCORE 98 [LINK] / REXIS COMFORT 125 [LINK]
Tokito Oda (JPN) | EZONE 100L [LINK] / POLYTOUR SPIN [LINK] / POLYTOUR PRO 125 [LINK]
Elena Rybakina (KAZ) | VCORE 100 [LINK] / POLYTOUR FIRE 125 [LINK] / Yonex apparel [LINK]
Casper Ruud (NOR) | EZONE 100 [LINK] / POLYTOUR SPIN [LINK] / POLYTOUR PRO 130 [LINK] / ECLIPSION [LINK] / Yonex apparel [LINK]
Ben Shelton (USA) | EZONE 98 [LINK] / POLYTOUR STRIKE 125 [LINK] / POLYTOUR PRO 125 [LINK]
