Passing of Mr Hirofumi Ono

It is with great sadness that we learned about the passing of Mr Hirofumi Ono after his battle with cancer. Hirofumi was the current world champion and Japan national champion in the B1 classification category. As a player, Hirofumi represented Japan on several occasions including in China, USA, Spain, Mexico and Ireland. He became chairman of the Japan Blind Tennis Federation (JBTF) in April 2020.

Our deepest sympathies to Hirofumi’s family and friends. Hirofumi passed away on the 1st September and his funeral was held on the 4th September at ‘Memoir Miwa’ in Gifu prefecture. Hirofumi is survived by his mother and younger sister.

The IBTA family has lost a close friend and a legend of blind tennis. Hirofumi Ono has inspired a lot of people, both visually impaired and sighted players. He will be sorely missed by everyone in the international blind tennis community.