Seventeen-year-old Tokito Oda of Japan won the French Open men's wheelchair tennis singles title Saturday, making him the category's youngest Grand Slam champion in history.
Oda, who has emerged as his country's next wheelchair tennis star following Shingo Kunieda's retirement, defeated top-seeded Alfie Hewett of Britain 6-1, 6-4, avenging his loss in their Australian Open final matchup this past January.
The French Open crown gives the left-hander a morale boost ahead of next year's Paris Paralympics, where the tennis competition will take place at the same Roland Garros stadium.
Oda converted five of 10 break points he earned. The fifth break put him up 5-4 in the second set before he served out the match, throwing his racket into the air in celebration.
"I'd like to thank everyone -- my team, family and fans," Oda said. "I want those who saw me play for the first time to support me from now on."
Hewett was the previous youngest winner of a Grand Slam men's wheelchair singles title with his 2017 French Open victory at 19 years, 186 days, according to the International Tennis Federation.
Born in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, Oda began using a wheelchair after he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his left hip at age 9. He took up the sport when he was 10 and turned pro in April 2022.
Earlier in the day, Diede De Groot of the Netherlands defeated Japan's Yui Kamiji 6-2, 6-0 in the women's wheelchair singles final.
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