Niels Vink (born 6 December 2002) is a Dutch wheelchair tennis player. He has won ten major singles titles, as well as a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics to complete the career Golden Slam. Vink has also won 15 major doubles titles, nine partnering Sam Schröder of the Netherlands and six with Guy Sasson of Israel, as well as two Paralympic gold medals to complete the double career Golden Slam.
Born in Helmond, Vink contracted life-threatening meningococcal sepsis at age one, resulting in the amputation of both legs and portions of his hands. Inspired by attending the 2012 London Paralympics as a child, he pursued wheelchair tennis and won the World Junior Championship in 2019. He went on to win a gold and a bronze medal at his Paralympic debut in Tokyo in 2021, followed by a multi-medal performance in Paris three years later.
Beginning in mid-2025, Vink forged a dominant doubles partnership with Guy Sasson. The two won six consecutive major titles spanning the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Early life
Vink was born in December 2002 in Helmond, the Netherlands. He continues to reside and train in his hometown of Helmond.
At the age of one year, Vink contracted a severe, life-threatening bacterial infection, meningococcal sepsis. Complications required the amputation of both of his legs, as well as several phalanges and small bones in his hands.
At the age of nine, he attended the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London as a spectator with his mother. This is where he was inspired to one day participate in the Paralympic Games. After trying out a few sports, including sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball, he chose wheelchair tennis.
During his secondary education, he attended and graduated from a specialized sports curriculum. He then studied sport and exercise at Summa College in Eindhoven.
Wheelchair tennis career 2019–25 Vink won the World Junior Championship in 2019. At the Tokyo Paralympic Games held in 2021, he won a gold medal in quad doubles with Sam Schröder of the Netherlands and a bronze medal in quad singles. In 2022, Vink was ranked quad world No. 1, and was named the International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Champion.
At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Vink defended his quad doubles title and won his first Paralympic singles gold medal.
After initially playing doubles with Schröder, Vink formed a highly successful doubles team with Israeli player Guy Sasson, starting in June 2025. The two dominated the quad doubles circuit, winning consecutive titles at major tournaments. In 2025, the Vink and Sasson won the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open doubles championships, as Vink won the singles titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
2026–present Vink and Sasson began 2026 by winning the 2026 Australian Open quad doubles championship, and Vink won his first Australian Open singles title, completing a career Golden Slam in quad singles.
Vink followed by winning both the quad singles title, and the doubles championship with Sasson for the second consecutive year, at the 2026 French Open.
In July 2026, Vink won the singles title, and he and Sasson won their sixth consecutive Grand Slam doubles title as a team at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships. Following their triumph at Wimbledon, the two praised each other, with Sasson highlighting how seamlessly they complete each other as a team on the court.
As of August 2026, Vink had career totals of 10 major singles titles and 15 major doubles titles. He and Sasson were in a position to try for a calendar-year Grand Slam at the 2026 US Open in September 2026, but were defeated in the final there in a tie-breaker.
Career statistics Performance timelines
Quad singles
Tournament202120222023202420252026 Australian OpenSFQFFSFFW1 / 612–5 French OpenAWWSFFW3 / 512–2 WimbledonAFWWWW4 / 514–1 US OpenFWFNHWW3 / 516–2Win–loss3–28–211–26–212–214–011 / 2154–10
Quad doubles
Tournament202120222023202420252026 Australian OpenSFFWSFFW2 / 68–3 French OpenAWSFWWW4 / 58–1 WimbledonAWWWWW5 / 510–0 US OpenWWWNHWF4 / 512–1Win–loss2–17–17–14–09–19–115 / 2138–5
Grand Slam tournament finals Quad singles: 17 (11 titles, 6 runner-ups) Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent ScoreLoss2021US OpenHard Dylan Alcott 5–7, 2–6Win2022French OpenClay Sam Schröder 6–4, 7–6(10–8)Loss2022WimbledonGrass Sam Schröder 6–7(5–7), 1–6Win2022US OpenHard Sam Schröder 7–5, 6–3Loss2023Australian OpenHard Sam Schröder2–6, 5–7Win2023French OpenClay Sam Schröder 3–6, 6–4, 6–4Win2023WimbledonGrass Heath Davidson 6–1, 6–2Loss2023US OpenHard Sam Schröder3–6, 5–7Win2024WimbledonGrass Sam Schröder7–6(7–4), 6–4Loss2025Australian OpenHard Sam Schröder6–7(7–9), 5–7Loss2025French OpenClay Guy Sasson 4–6, 5–7Win2025WimbledonGrass Sam Schröder6–3, 6–3Win2025US OpenHard Sam Schröder 7–5, 6–3Win2026Australian OpenHard Sam Schröder6–3, 7–6(7–5)Win2026French OpenClay Ahmet Kaplan 6–3, 6–4Win2026WimbledonGrass Sam Schröder6–1, 6–3Win2026US OpenHard Sam Schröder 6–2, 7–5
Quad doubles: 18 (15 titles, 3 runner-ups) Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents ScoreWin2021US OpenHard Sam Schröder Dylan Alcott Heath Davidson6–3, 6–2Loss2022Australian OpenHard Sam Schröder Andy Lapthorne David Wagner6–2, 4–6, [7–10]Win2022French OpenClay Sam Schröder Heath Davidson Ymanitu Silva6–2, 6–2Win2022WimbledonGrass Sam Schröder Andy Lapthorne David Wagner6–7(4–7), 6–2, 6–3Win2022US OpenHard Sam Schröder David Wagner Robert Shaw6–1, 6–2Win2023Australian OpenHard Sam Schröder Donald Ramphadi Ymanitu Silva6–1, 6–3Win2023WimbledonGrass Sam Schröder Heath Davidson Robert Shaw7–6(7–5), 6–0Win2023US OpenHard Sam Schröder Andy Lapthorne Donald Ramphadi 6–1, 6–2Win2024French OpenClay Sam Schröder Andy Lapthorne Guy Sasson7–6(11–9), 6–1Win2024WimbledonGrass Sam Schröder Andy Lapthorne Guy Sasson3–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–3Loss2025Australian OpenHard Guy Sasson Andy Lapthorne Sam Schröder1–6, 4–6Win2025French OpenClay Guy Sasson Ahmet Kaplan Donald Ramphadi6–3, 6–4Win2025WimbledonGrass Guy Sasson Donald Ramphadi Gregory Slade 6–0, 6–2Win2025US OpenHard Guy Sasson Francisco Cayulef Gonzalo Enrique Lazarte 6–1, 6–1Win2026Australian OpenHard Guy Sasson Heath Davidson Andy Lapthorne6–3, 6–1Win2026French OpenClay Guy Sasson Sam Schröder Jin Woodman6–4, 6–3Win2026WimbledonGrass Guy Sasson Sam Schröder Jin Woodman 6–2, 6–1Loss2026US OpenHard Guy Sasson Sam Schröder Jin Woodman 3–6, 6–2, [7–10]
See also Netherlands at the Paralympics List of quad wheelchair tennis champions
Notes
References
External links