Great Britain’s Andy Lapthorne, 33, and Gregory Slade, 24, took to the Philippe Chatrier centre court at Paris’s Roland-Garros Stadium on Wednesday, 4th September. They played top seeds and defending Champions from the Netherlands Sam Schroder, 24, and Niels Vink, 21, in the Men’s Wheelchair Tennis Quad Doubles gold medal match.
The Dutch duo dominated, winning two straight sets 6-1 for the the gold and resigning the British pair to silver. The title-holders were favourites coming in and swiftly proved they remain the best in the world, winning both sets in just over an hour.
The match marked the end of Andy Lapthorne’s 4th Paralympics, a historic achievement for British wheelchair tennis, and his fourth Paralympic medal.
Lapthorne first won silver in this event alongside Tennis legend Peter Norfolk at London 2012, and then the bronze with Jamie Burdekin at Rio 2016 in the longest wheelchair tennis match in Paralympic history which ran to four hours and 25 minutes. He also claimed an individual silver in Rio.
The experienced player appeared devastated in defeat on the famous clay court, but announced afterwards that he will not be contending another Paralympic Games in pursuit of the full medal set.
“This will be my last Paralympic match, so it’s bittersweet. It’s been such a journey. This week has kind of topped it all off with the crowds, the reactions. For me to get to this point and feel ready to leave is nice.”
“I’m not going to put any timeline on when I stop, but the body starts to scream at you. At some point, you’ve got to know when to say, ‘right, I need to slow down a little bit’.”
“To win four medals at the Paralympics is not to be sniffed at. And yeah, it’s time for me to leave this part of my career behind. I’m sad in a way, but also happy that I got to leave on my own terms: on a centre court at a Grand Slam in front of a huge crowd. I’ve loved every single minute.”
Lapthorne and Slade beat Brazilian pair Leandro Pena and Ymanitu Silva in straight sets 6-1 / 7-5 in their semi-final on Sunday 1st September. Paralympic debutante Slade said he felt conflicted about not being able to replicate that win.
“To come away with a medal is just mind-blowing. We knew going into it today that the match was going to be tough. The guys are the best pair in the world and I am disappointed that we couldn’t put up more of a fight. Right now there’s some mixed emotions.”
There were times this year where I was seriously considering whether I wanted to stay in the sport. Through lots of hard work and determination from myself, from Andy as my partner, from our teams, we got to this point. To sit here as a first-time Paralympian with a medal around my neck, it’s unbelievable.
“As somebody who is still in the early stages of my career, I’m so grateful to Andy for everything he’s done for the division. Because looking forward, the future is bright.”
Lapthorne hopes that his legacy will be part of that future:
“I think I’ve left the sport in a better place than when I found it. The quad division in particular is in a much better place. My legacy will be hopefully someone that always left it out there. Sometimes a bit mental, sometimes a bit crazy, but someone that never let up and always tried to win the last point.”
By Lauren Lethbridge, ADJ Diploma Student