'Near 190kmh sitting down!': Japan's teen comet that Dylan Alcott wants you to watch
Updated . First published at
MELBOURNE: Dylan Alcott sums it up succinctly.
"I'm very happy that I'm retired because they would kick my arse."
Alcott, of course, is being modest. The Victorian won an astonishing 23 grand slam titles in quad wheelchair tennis, 15 of them in singles. He can play.
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Dylan Alcott of Australia celebrates with the trophy at Wimbledon. Getty
But the now 35-year-old retired in 2022 and marvels at how far the game has come. In particular the 19-year-old comet from Japan, Tokito Oda.
Oda made his grand slam debut after Alcott signed off and immediately reached the 2022 semi-finals at Roland-Garros.
Incredibly, Oda has already won seven major singles titles.
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By winning the 2023 French Open, he became the youngest man in the Open era (17 years and 33 days) to win a slam in any discipline. He will take on Martin De la Puente in Saturday's final after the Spaniard upset world No.1 and defending champion Alfie Hewett.
"I want everybody to go and watch Oda," Alcott told Wide World of Sports.
"He serves the ball near 190kmh sitting down! There are some people on their feet that can't serve it that quick. We're a bit lower, so you've got to flatten it out to do that, which has more risk.
Tokito Oda of Japan serves at Melbourne Park. Getty
"It's pretty impressive, isn't it? He just turned 19, brother! It's just great timing. My fastest serve ever was 165kmh. I was pretty happy with it. There was probably a 30kmh breeze behind me. What he is doing is unbelievable.
"The professionalism of wheelchair tennis has increased immensely. The current athletes have just taken it to such an extreme level, where if you're not professional, fulltime, and putting in the work, you're not going to win.
"In the gym, greater demands on your body, sports science, sports psychology, all these things, which is just so great to see. Mate, the level here at the Australian Open is just intense. It's so good, so entertaining, so elite."
Alcott loves the fact that wheelchair tennis is the same as able bodied tennis, apart from players being allowed two bounces before legally hitting the ball.
Wheelchairs are getting lighter and easier to manoeuvre each year but, as Alcott notes, "it's f---ing hard work."
"The biggest surprise when people watch is going, wow, how hard we hit the ball and how fast we cover the court, right?
Arnold Schwarzenegger greets Australian Open wheelchair tennis champion Dylan Alcott. Getty
"When you drive a car and you stop at a red light, you've then got to rebuild the momentum when you get going again. In a wheelchair, it's exactly the same thing. Obviously, it's a lot harder to get a wheelchair going than to take your first step when you run.
"And at the Australian Open, the court radiates heat. We are lower, our wheels heat up, it has a big impact on your hands. Blisters, calluses, you name it."
Alcott still can't believe he was named Australian of the Year in 2022.
David Hall on Stan Sport. Stan
He pays homage to Danni Di Toro and David Hall, two wheelchair greats who didn't get the same exposure as he did.
"We stand on the shoulders of giants who came before us," Alcott says.
"I get goosebumps watching the next generation of young athletes. I'm just trying to be myself. Australian of the Year was the biggest honour. I mean, I still can't... like, what the hell? It wasn't me, it was we.
Dylan Alcott during the 2019 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. Getty
"It was a combination of people caring about me and writing stories, the Australian public. There was just a groundswell around not just my tennis career, but my work around changing perceptions around what it's like to be a disabled person in this country and around the world. And I'm very grateful for that.
"I hope to create environments where there aren't just a few select people who get given that platform with disability, like me.
"There are so many incredible people with disability who deserve their voice heard in the arts, in sport, in politics, in TV, in radio, in whatever it is. And we're getting there. We're getting there slowly."
