ATP Tour

Kei Nishikori: The legacy of Japan's tennis icon

Few players have carried the hopes of a tennis nation quite like Kei Nishikori.

For nearly two decades, the Japanese star was a fixture on the ATP Tour’s biggest stages, breaking new ground for Asian tennis while building a reputation as one of the fiercest competitors of his generation. The first Japanese man to crack the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings and the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final, he also broke a near-century-long drought by winning an Olympic tennis medal for Japan.

What the 5'10" Nishikori lacked in firepower he made up for in competitive fire. His will to win inspired a generation of players in Japan — including former WTA No. 1 Naomi Osaka and #NextGenATP star Rei Sakamoto — across Asia and around the world.

Fittingly, the 36-year-old Nishikori’s career ended on home soil in Tokyo at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships, a tournament he won in 2012 and 2014 in front of adoring crowds at the Ariake Coliseum.

Nishikori grew up in Shimane and began playing tennis at age five when his father handed him a racquet. His journey to the professional level began in earnest with a journey around the world: At 14, not speaking a word of English, he moved to Florida to train at IMG Academy. Overcoming the language barrier, Nishikori let his game do the talking.

After turning pro in 2007, he developed into a soft-spoken superstar. Over the course of his career, Nishikori won 12 ATP Tour titles and reached 15 additional finals, including four at the ATP Masters 1000 level. He qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals four times and reached the semi-finals twice. In all, he won 452 tour-level matches.

But one statistic says more than any trophy count.

Nishikori won 72.5 per cent (158-60) of the deciding sets he played during his career, the third-best tour-level mark in history behind only ATP No. 1 Club members Bjorn Borg (73.4%) and John McEnroe (72.8%), according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. He also won 78.4 per cent (29-8) of the fifth sets he played.

That fighting spirit was never more evident than in his career-best 2014 season.

Nishikori went 54-14 that year and won four titles, but his defining run came at the US Open. He needed five sets to survive Milos Raonic in the fourth round, then went the distance again to beat Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals.

That set up a showdown with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

Nishikori had spent more than eight hours on court across his previous two matches, but he showed no signs of fading on a stiflingly hot and humid day in Arthur Ashe Stadium. He upset Djokovic in four gruelling sets to become the first Asian man in history to reach a Grand Slam singles final. Despite a defeat to Marin Cilic in the title match, the breakthrough raised his profile ever higher, redefining what was possible for Japanese and Asian tennis players.

"A lot of [Japanese] people follow tennis because of him. He's a superstar," said Sakamoto, who beat Nishikori in a passing-of-the-torch moment at US Open qualifying. "In 2014 I was still [young], I was watching Kei play an amazing tournament [at the US Open]. I honestly grew up watching him play, and he was my idol for my whole life.”

^{Nishikori celebrates his win against Djokovic in the 2014 US Open semi-finals. Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images.}

Nishikori closed that season by reaching the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time, becoming the first Asian man to qualify for the prestigious year-end event.

By March 2015, Nishikori had climbed to a career-high World No. 4, the highest ranking ever achieved by an Asian man. He finished two seasons inside the Top 5 of the PIF ATP Rankings and another two inside the Top 10.

Playing in the Big Three era, Nishikori notched seven career victories against Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, beating Federer three times and Nadal and Djokovic twice each. Two of those wins stand up among the most significant of his career: His 2014 US Open semi-final win against Djokovic, and a three-set victory against Nadal in the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medal match.

The medal was Japan’s first in Olympic tennis in 96 years. Five years later, when the Olympics came to Tokyo in 2021, Nishikori reached the quarter-finals on home soil — a run that began with an upset of fifth seed Andrey Rublev.

^{Nishikori poses with the Japanese flag after beating Nadal in the bronze medal match at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images.}

At his peak, his speed, timing and ability to take the ball early allowed him to dictate against players with far greater physical prowess. As he navigated injury struggles later in his career, Nishikori continued to find ways to win, his longevity adding another layer to his legacy.

In 2025, six years after his most recent ATP Tour title in Brisbane, Nishikori reached the Hong Kong final at the age of 35, beating third seed Karen Khachanov along the way.
As he continued to compete on the ATP Challenger Tour in the twilight of his career, Nishikori’s persistence became as much a part of his story as his biggest victories.

"My love for tennis and my belief that I could become a stronger player always brought me back to the court," Nishikori wrote in his April retirement announcement. "To be honest, I still wish I could continue my playing career. Even so, looking back on everything up to this point, I can proudly say that I gave it my all.

"I am truly happy to have walked this path."

It was a path no Japanese player had walked before him, and one he hopes many more will yet follow.