Traveling abroad alone at age 15: Wheelchair tennis medalist Yui Kamiji's life story

If I'm going to fight, I want to fight under the same rules and on the same stage as everyone else.

OnTrip JAL Editorial Department (hereinafter referred to as JAL): I understand that you started playing wheelchair tennis when you were 11 years old. What was the trigger?

Yui Kamiji (hereafter, Kamiji): I have an older sister who is four years older than me, and I think one of the reasons I started playing tennis was because she joined the soft tennis club in junior high school. I wanted to play tennis with my sister.

Another big factor was that I learned about wheelchair tennis from a member of the wheelchair basketball team I had been on before.

JAL: Why were you more attracted to wheelchair tennis than wheelchair basketball?

Kamiji: When I started playing wheelchair basketball, I wasn't even 10 years old, so I had way more power than the older players.

For this reason, they made special rules for me, like "Yui is small, so if the shot hits the ring, it will count as a goal," but I found that really frustrating.

If I'm going to play, I want to play by the same rules as everyone else, and compete on the same level playing field. In that respect, tennis has a net, and anyone can play as long as they can get the ball over the net, which is what makes it fun.

I want you to see how I play in relation to my body.

JAL: You are well known for your achievements as a wheelchair tennis player, but after competing in London and Rio de Janeiro, you have also been selected to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

With the tournament being held in your home country, there is a lot of attention on the event. What do you think will make watching wheelchair tennis more enjoyable?

Kamiji: I think that with able-bodied players, it's easy to understand their playing style, but with wheelchair tennis players, I think it's also good to be aware of what kind of disability they have.

This is because wheelchair tennis does not have as many detailed classifications as other parasports, so people with a variety of disabilities compete in the same class.

So I think it would be interesting to pay attention to how each player deals with their own body and symptoms and how they try to play.

I was interested in going abroad, so I actually felt like I wanted to go alone (laughs).

JAL: Mr. Kamiji, you have participated in many international matches, but how many overseas tours do you go on each year?

Uechi: I go to about 20 tournaments overseas a year, and each tournament takes about a week, including travel time. So I feel like I'm overseas for more than half the month.

JAL: Your first overseas trip was when you were in the third year of junior high school, and you went alone, without your parents accompanying you.

Uechi: That's right. I ended up competing in the team event at the Wheelchair Tennis World Team Championships in England, but there was no precedent for a 15-year-old to participate.

A staff member at the tournament asked me, "Would you like to come with your parents?" so we had a family meeting (laughs).

However, when I thought about the possibility that there might be more opportunities like this in the future, if I had my parents come every time, it would be a burden on my parents, and the expenses would simply double. But if I went alone, I could participate in twice as many tournaments. So I said, "I'll go alone" (laughs).

I've always had a strong interest in going abroad, so I was actually like, "Please let me go by myself" (laughs).

I was happy when the foreign players called out "YUI!"

JAL: Why were you interested in going abroad?

Uechi: When I was in elementary school, I saw a flyer about overseas homestays that was distributed at school and attended an information session. After listening to the actual talk, I became even more interested.

However, at the time, there was no precedent for a wheelchair user studying abroad with a homestay, so I was turned down, which was a disappointing experience.

JAL: How was your dream of going on your first overseas trip?

Uechi: It was a lot of fun. I participated in international tournaments held in Japan, so it's not that I didn't know about foreign athletes, but I didn't really have the chance to talk to them.

But that was the first time I had my picture taken with a foreign player. I was 15 at the time, but I was small so people around me probably thought I was about 12 or 13 (laughs), and I was happy when everyone called out to me, "YUI! YUI!"

Before the tournament started, my coach, worried about me as I would be traveling alone, told me I could send an email to Japan once a day, but I was so busy interacting with the local people that I ended up not sending a single email (laughs).

Through wheelchair tennis, I feel like I have been able to fulfill my childhood dream of going abroad.

JAL: Since then, you have participated in numerous competitions. Are there any places you particularly like or events that have left a lasting impression on you?

Uechi: No matter how tough my schedule is, I enter the Toyota International Open held on the French island of Île-de-Ré every year. The island is surrounded by the sea, so the seafood is delicious (laughs), and the atmosphere on the island is very laid back.

It's my favorite tournament because the atmosphere is so close between the players and the staff that you forget it's a tournament. There are a lot of elderly people waiting for me to come back, so I'm looking forward to meeting them.

Also, at the French Open, I was impressed that the JAL captain who piloted the plane I was on came to watch the match. It made me realize how much support I receive from the local people and those who come to cheer me on.

WHEELCHAIR TENNIS