The Most Famous

TENNIS PLAYERS from Japan

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This page contains a list of the greatest Japanese Tennis Players. The pantheon dataset contains 1,569 Tennis Players, 24 of which were born in Japan. This makes Japan the birth place of the 16th most number of Tennis Players behind Slovakia, and Netherlands.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Japanese Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Japanese Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Japanese Tennis Players.

Photo of Naomi Osaka

1. Naomi Osaka (b. 1997)

With an HPI of 52.57, Naomi Osaka is the most famous Japanese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 70 different languages on wikipedia.

Naomi Osaka (Japanese: 大坂 なおみ, Hepburn: Ōsaka Naomi, Japanese pronunciation: [oːsaka naomi], born October 16, 1997) is a Japanese professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion, with two Australian Open and two US Open titles. Her seven titles on the WTA Tour include two at the Premier Mandatory level. At the 2018 US Open and the 2019 Australian Open, Osaka won her first two major titles in back-to-back tournaments, becoming the first Japanese player to win a major singles title and the first woman to win successive major singles titles since Serena Williams in 2015. Born in Japan to a Haitian-American father and a Japanese mother, Osaka has lived and trained in the United States since age three. She came to prominence at age 16 when she defeated former US Open champion Samantha Stosur in her WTA Tour debut at the 2014 Stanford Classic. Two years later, she reached her first WTA final at the 2016 Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and entered the top 50 of the WTA rankings. Osaka broke into the upper echelon of women's tennis in 2018, winning her first WTA title at the Indian Wells Open, then defeating Williams in the final of the US Open. In 2021, suffering from depression and other issues, Osaka retired from the French Open, dropped out of Wimbledon, lost early at the US Open, and ended her season early. She took maternity leave in 2023 and returned to competition in 2024. Osaka is one of the world's most marketable athletes. In 2020, she ranked eighth among athletes in endorsement income and had the highest-ever annual income of any female athlete. Osaka is also recognized as an activist, having showed support for the Black Lives Matter movement. She was named one of the 2020 Sports Illustrated Sportspersons of the Year for her activism, particularly during her US Open championship run, and was included on Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019, 2020, and 2021. She was the 2021 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she became the first tennis player to light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony. On the court, Osaka has an aggressive playing style with a powerful serve that can reach 201 kilometers per hour (125 mph).

Photo of Jiro Sato

2. Jiro Sato (1908 - 1934)

With an HPI of 46.89, Jiro Sato is the 2nd most famous Japanese Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Jiro Sato (佐藤 次郎, Satō Jirō, Japanese pronunciation: [sa.toː dʑi.ɾoː]; January 5, 1908 – April 5, 1934) was a Japanese tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in 1933, but committed suicide in the Strait of Malacca during his trip to the Davis Cup in 1934. He received worldwide fame in Wimbledon 1932, when he beat the defending champion Sidney Wood at the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, he lost to Bunny Austin. His peak came in 1933, when he beat Fred Perry in the French Open quarterfinal. He was ranked world No. 3 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph, behind Jack Crawford and Fred Perry. However, it got more and more difficult for him to endure the enormous pressure from Japan. It is believed that pressure drove him to throw himself overboard into the Strait of Malacca on April 5, 1934, at 26 years of age.

Photo of Kei Nishikori

3. Kei Nishikori (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 46.23, Kei Nishikori is the 3rd most famous Japanese Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 50 different languages.

Kei Nishikori (錦織 圭, Nishikori Kei, [ɲiɕi̥koꜜɾi keꜜː]; born 29 December 1989) is a Japanese professional tennis player. He is the first and only Japanese men's player in the Open Era to have been ranked in the top five in singles and the second male in history after Jiro Sato. He reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 in March 2015. He has won six ATP Tour 500 titles, six ATP Tour 250 titles and was runner-up at the 2014 US Open, making him the first and only man representing an Asian country to reach a Grand Slam singles final. He also became the first man from Asia to qualify for the ATP Finals, and reached the semifinals in 2014 and 2016. In addition, Nishikori defeated Rafael Nadal to win the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, bringing Japan its first Olympic tennis medal in 96 years. He holds one of the highest percentages of deciding-set wins in the Open Era and has the second-highest win percentage in matches extending to five sets, with a record of 28–8 and a win percentage of 77.78%.

Photo of Ichiya Kumagae

4. Ichiya Kumagae (1890 - 1968)

With an HPI of 46.19, Ichiya Kumagae is the 4th most famous Japanese Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Ichiya "Ichy" Kumagae (熊谷 一弥, Kumagai Ichiya, 10 September 1890 – 16 August 1968) was a Japanese tennis player and the first Japanese Olympic medalist.

Photo of Seiichiro Kashio

5. Seiichiro Kashio (1892 - 1962)

With an HPI of 46.07, Seiichiro Kashio is the 5th most famous Japanese Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Seiichiro Kashio (柏尾 誠一郎, Kashio Seiichirō, January 2, 1892 – September 6, 1962) was a tennis player from Japan, and with Ichiya Kumagae was one of the first Japanese Olympic medalists. He won the Canadian Open by defeating United States player Walter Wesbrook 3–6, 6–3, 6–1, 11–9.

Photo of Kimiko Date

6. Kimiko Date (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 43.46, Kimiko Date is the 6th most famous Japanese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Kimiko Date (伊達 公子, Date Kimiko, born 28 September 1970) is a Japanese former professional tennis player. She reached the semifinals of the 1994 Australian Open, the 1995 French Open and the 1996 Wimbledon Championships, and won the Japan Open a record four times. She reached a career-high ranking of world No. 4 in 1995, and retired from professional tennis in November 1996. She returned to tennis nearly 12 years later, announcing an unexpected comeback in April 2008. She then won her eighth WTA title at the 2009 Korea Open, becoming the second-oldest player in the Open era, after Billie Jean King, to win a singles title on the WTA Tour. In 2013, she won three WTA Tour titles in doubles and at the 2014 US Open, aged 43, she reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam doubles tournament for the first time in her career. Date announced her final retirement in September 2017.

Photo of Ai Sugiyama

7. Ai Sugiyama (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 41.31, Ai Sugiyama is the 7th most famous Japanese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Ai Sugiyama (杉山愛, Sugiyama Ai, born July 5, 1975) is a Japanese former tennis player. She reached the world No. 1 ranking in women's doubles on the WTA Tour and had a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. In her career, she won six singles and 38 doubles titles, including three Grand Slam titles (one with Julie Halard-Decugis and two partnering Kim Clijsters), and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title (partnering Mahesh Bhupathi). Sugiyama held the all-time record, for both male and female players, for her 62 consecutive Grand Slam main-draw appearances, until she was surpassed by Roger Federer at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.

Photo of Kazuko Sawamatsu

8. Kazuko Sawamatsu (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 39.74, Kazuko Sawamatsu is the 8th most famous Japanese Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Kazuko Sawamatsu (Japanese: 沢松和子, born 5 January 1951) is a retired tennis player from Japan. She competed in a number of major LTA tournaments in the 1970s on the world circuit. At the 1975 Australian Open, she reached the quarterfinals as well as reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and U.S. Open the same year. She also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 1973, and won the 1975 Wimbledon ladies doubles title with partner Ann Kiyomura. In November 1975, she won the singles title at the Japan Open Tennis Championships, defeating Kiyomura in the final in three sets, and together they won the doubles title. Sawamatsu is the sister of tennis player Junko Sawamatsu and the aunt of Naoko Sawamatsu.

Photo of Yoshihito Nishioka

9. Yoshihito Nishioka (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 35.40, Yoshihito Nishioka is the 9th most famous Japanese Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Yoshihito Nishioka (西岡 良仁, Nishioka Yoshihito, born 27 September 1995) is a Japanese professional tennis player. He has won three ATP Tour singles titles and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 24 on 19 June 2023. He is currently the No. 1 Japanese player.

Photo of Shingo Kunieda

10. Shingo Kunieda (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 34.19, Shingo Kunieda is the 10th most famous Japanese Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Shingo Kunieda (国枝 慎吾, Kunieda Shingo, born February 21, 1984) is a Japanese former wheelchair tennis player. With four Paralympic gold medals, 28 major singles titles – an all-time record in singles of any tennis discipline – and 50 major titles overall, Kunieda is widely considered the greatest male wheelchair player of all time. Kunieda was the ITF World Champion from 2007 to 2010. He was also the year-end No. 1 in doubles in 2007. In 2007, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2015, Kunieda won all three singles majors that hosted wheelchair singles events (Wimbledon did not do so until 2016). In 2007 and 2008, Kunieda also won three of the four Masters series events. Kunieda is the only male player to retain the men's singles title at the Paralympics – he took the gold medal in 2008, 2012 and 2020. In addition, Kunieda won the gold medal in the 2004 men's doubles, and has been part of two World Team Cup wins. He has 103 career titles over singles and doubles combined, including 50 majors. Kunieda had a three-year, 106-match consecutive win streak. The streak began after his loss at the 2007 Masters and ended to Stéphane Houdet in the semifinals of the 2010 Masters. In late 2012 to early 2013, Kunieda had a win streak of 44 matches. Between January 2014 and December 2015, Kunieda was on yet another winning streak of 77 matches, ending to Joachim Gérard in the round-robin phase of the 2015 NEC Masters tournament. Kunieda is a right-handed player whose favorite surface is hard court. He was coached by Hiromichi Maruyama. He announced his retirement in January 2023.

People

Pantheon has 27 people classified as Japanese tennis players born between 1890 and 1997. Of these 27, 24 (88.89%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Japanese tennis players include Naomi Osaka, Kei Nishikori, and Kimiko Date. The most famous deceased Japanese tennis players include Jiro Sato, Ichiya Kumagae, and Seiichiro Kashio. As of April 2024, 3 new Japanese tennis players have been added to Pantheon including Jiro Sato, Kazuko Sawamatsu, and Junri Namigata.

Living Japanese Tennis Players

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Deceased Japanese Tennis Players

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Newly Added Japanese Tennis Players (2024)

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