Our Town Inagi 2020: Mr. Shigeharu Ota

The long-awaited first victory after 16 years

Mr. Ota, a resident of Wakabadai, participated in the "81st All Japan Veteran Tennis Championships 2019" (October 2019, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture) and achieved an outstanding result by winning the doubles in the 50s category and reaching the top 8 in the singles of the same category.
Mr. Ota has participated in this tournament for 16 consecutive years, and his previous best result was the runner-up, but at this tournament, the first since the Reiwa era, he finally achieved his long-awaited first victory. Reflecting on the tournament, he mentioned that it was great to maintain a good condition throughout the tournament and to approach the matches with a relaxed mindset as usual.
The "All Japan Veteran Tennis Championships," which gathers tennis enthusiasts from all over the country, is also a place for players to interact, and one of the attractions is the opportunity to meet friends that can only be seen at this tournament. Mr. Ota even had a reunion with a player he competed against in high school after several decades. He met his doubles partner, Mr. Koshishi (a resident of Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture), at this All Japan Veteran Tennis Championships. Although they have been partners in doubles for three years, they usually do not practice together, and they only see each other on the day of the tournament, which happens to be just four times a year.

Mr. Ota started playing tennis in middle school, when he joined the soft tennis club with his friends. In high school, he initially belonged to the soccer club, but later switched to the hard tennis club. During university, he was part of a tennis circle, and after becoming a working adult, he taught tennis to a wide range of generations, from children to the elderly, as a coach. Currently, he practices 2 to 3 times a week at tennis courts in the city while balancing work in order to participate in tournaments.
When asked about the charm of tennis, he said, "It's something you can continue even as you age, the strategies during matches are interesting, and it's enjoyable for the spectators as well." His future goals are to "continue playing tennis forever and to win the All Japan Veteran Tennis Championships again." Let's support Mr. Ota in his future endeavors.