AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 31, 2026

Niels Vink

Press Conference

N. VINK/S. Schroder

6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Niels, congratulations on the win today.

NIELS VINK: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: You finally made it, and you get them all now. So how does it feel for you today to have won the Australian Open?

NIELS VINK: Yeah, I don't know how to say it in words, because this was the only one I was missing in everything. I have Wimbledon, Roland Garros, US Open, gold medal, but this was the only one missing.

So, yeah, this one was already last year a dream, and then Sam was better in the final, but today I finally have it, so yeah, it's amazing.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Many congratulations. When you leapt out of the chair at the end onto the court, that was extraordinary. That was in the spur of the moment, I guess.

NIELS VINK: Yeah, yeah. I was feeling that I had to strap out. Otherwise, I was going to fall forward. So I thought, okay, let's go.

Then, yeah, the feeling was so good. I was so happy and so happy that it was finished, because I was also very nervous. Maybe you could see it (laughter). Also, the game on 5-4, yeah, I don't know. Yeah, it's crazy.

Q. So you had a photo in your hand.

NIELS VINK: Yeah, this one.

Q. Can you talk us through that?

NIELS VINK: Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is my coach, Hans. He passed away last year two weeks after US Open. Yeah.

Q. So that emotion was all part of it.

NIELS VINK: Yeah, because we started the journey together, and we wanted to finish it, and in our eyes finish it to win them all.

But, sadly, he didn't make this one, but yeah, so he's still here. Yeah, we did it. This one is, for sure, for him.

Q. You said on court that you felt it mattered more than anything, perhaps more than the Paralympics. So it is the pinnacle of everything you've been working for?

NIELS VINK: Yeah, I think so, because my dream was always to win the Paralympics, but since Hans passed away, I have a different vision. I want to enjoy on the court, and of course, I want to win everything, but I remember last year I had to win for myself.

Since Hans passed away, it was, like, let's see how it goes. I want to enjoy. If I win, nice. If I don't win, okay.

I could be happy if I had fun on the court, and today I had fun, and I have this bad boy (pointing to trophy), so yeah (smiling). Yeah, this one feels amazing. Of course, it's my first slam without Hans, so that's also very emotional.

Q. Sam looked very upset at the end, as you would expect. Can you give a few words about how he played today and what he's like as a person?

NIELS VINK: Yeah, Sam is an amazing person. He won this one four in a row. It's insane. I always spoke with Hans, but also now with Alex that Sam is like a monster here in Australia. He's always so good.

I remember last year I was leading 5-2, and out of nowhere, he said, okay, boom, boom, boom, 7-5 for him.

Then I thought, what do I need to do? Yeah, he won it four times in a row. He beat Dylan in his last match. Yeah, he's an amazing player. This tournament is also I think his favorite surface and his favorite tournament, so yeah, it feels amazing to finally beat him here.

Q. What will you do tonight?

NIELS VINK: I'm going to celebrate like crazy (laughter).

Q. Are you going to have a beer?

NIELS VINK: A few maybe (laughter).

Q. So you obviously both know each other's game pretty well, so what was it today that you think helped sort of get you over the line?

NIELS VINK: Yeah, the thing was because every match, the whole match, it was so close, and every game, it was so close. It was really the one that got the first opportunity won the point. So I had to make sure that my ball was that good that Sam is not getting an opportunity, because he took his opportunity.

The other way around, I did the same. I think that made the difference today that, yeah, I think, I don't know, the difference also in points is not much, I think, because every, yeah, every game was so close except the one on 5-4, but we forget that one (smiling).

Yeah, I think that made the difference.

Q. How does this win weigh up in terms of your whole career so far?

NIELS VINK: Yeah, I completed tennis in my eyes now at 23 years old, so yeah, that's an amazing feeling, but I'm not finished.

So don't worry, but as a tennis player, it's a dream to win a Grand Slam or even be on a Grand Slam. Yeah, I remember my first one, Roland Garros. It felt so good to win a Grand Slam. Yeah, to complete every tournament, including the gold medal, yeah, that feels amazing.

Q. Coming from the Netherlands, there are so many good players, especially wheelchair players. Why are you guys leading the way? What do you think goes into that?

NIELS VINK: I have really no idea (laughter). Yeah, I don't know. We had Esther. We had Esther Vergeer, Diede de Groot, Robin Ammerlaan, Maikel Scheffers, and before that we had more I think, but I was not born, so I don't know.

But never in the quad category. There was one guy from Australia that was killing it, Mr. Dylan Alcott. Yeah, for me, my motivation was always Rafa Nadal. I never had motivation with a Dutch player, I don't know why, but always Rafael Nadal.

When I became a quad player it was Dylan. My dream was to beat him once. I never did, but this week in practice I beat him, so finally, but not in an official match.

It's amazing to be, yeah, the first quad player to win everything, so that feels amazing.