Rei Sakamoto has long idolised Kei Nishikori, and one simple bit of advice from his countryman is still sticking with him as he enjoys a breakthrough week at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
Former World No. 4 Nishikori officially retired last week in Tokyo, but his words have stayed with Sakamoto since they first spoke when the youngster was 16. Now 20, the Japanese has plenty to reflect on in Shanghai, where wins against Marco Trungelliti and Andrey Rublev have taken him to the third round at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time.
“When I was still like 16, I was maybe playing too passive,” Sakamoto told ATPTour.com. “Then he [Nishikori] said to me, ‘Hey, rip more balls.’ Simple. He doesn't say a lot of words. He doesn't talk a lot. But he picks the word and he tells me one really specific thing, and that was it.
“He had the biggest effect on me as a tennis player and as a person. He was so inspirational. It's sad to see him retiring. He will still be my idol, no matter what.”
If Sakamoto needed any reminder to take that advice to heart, his start in Shanghai has been a pretty good one. After qualifying for the ATP Masters 1000 event, he blasted 56 winners across his first two main-draw matches, helping him take down Trungellitti and then Rublev to claim the biggest win of his career.
Nishikori's advice is certainly paying off, then, and it is not just in Shanghai that Sakamoto has been making his move in 2026. The Japanese has enjoyed a series of milestones this season: He picked up his first ATP Tour win in Miami and qualified for the Australian Open and US Open. In New York, he even defeated Nishikori in qualifying before going on to earn his first main-draw win at a major against Aleksandar Vukic in five sets.
For a player who grew up looking up to Nishikori, that US Open run was another important step, but the influence of his idol stretches well beyond what happens on court. Sakamoto has also taken inspiration from the decisions Nishikori made early in his career, including his move to IMG Academy in Florida, where Sakamoto also spent his junior years.
“His whole career, he was based in the U.S. at the IMG Academy, where he grew up and I grew up as a junior,” Sakamoto said. “He knew being based in Japan was too comfortable for him. So he told me why he made that decision, why he put himself in tougher conditions that were not comfortable.
“That was really inspirational when he talked about the reason for his determination. Right now, I have Federico, my Italian coach. In the future, I would like to move to Europe or somewhere based outside of Japan. I love Japan so much, but it is too comfortable at the same time. So, that might be the next move that I will make out of Kei's advice.”
Kei Nishikori and Rei Sakamoto play doubles together in Tokyo in 2024. Photo: Kenta Harada/Getty Images
Sakamoto is already thinking about what his next step might look like, with Nishikori's experience helping him understand that getting to the top can mean leaving your comfort zone behind. For now, he is continuing to build with coach Federico Ricci, who has helped him make some important changes since they began working together ahead of the 2025 season.
The partnership has been about more than just improving Sakamoto's tennis. The 2024 Australian Open boys' champion admits that his attitude towards practice was not always where it needed to be, but he feels he has made real progress in the way he approaches the job.
“At the start, there were so many things to pick up,” Sakamoto said. “I can also say that it was a little messy with my attitude towards practice.
“Now, we can put a lot more focus on not just things outside of the court, like eating clean, sleeping good, putting a great attitude on the court. Those things are getting better and better, so right now I can really focus on my improvement on the tennis court. He [Ricci] is important as a tennis coach and also as a mentor.”
The hard work is starting to show in his results, too. After missing qualification for last year's Next Gen ATP Finals, Sakamoto has surged into contention this season and sits fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Reggio Calabria, with the 20-and-under event taking place from 9-13 December in Italy.
View PIF ATP Live Race To Reggio Calabria
It has taken a change in mindset to get there, though, and Sakamoto knows that putting together a good week is one thing, while maintaining that level throughout a season is another.
“Before I used to do it 20 per cent of the year: Putting tennis as the highest priority and doing the work for it,” Sakamoto explained when asked about his sacrifices. “But right now it's started to be 60 per cent of the time. Like when I do 10 practices, eight [of those] come out as good practices that I can improve on and have more consistency during the game.
“I used to tank a lot of matches… Now I fight. There’s not one particular thing [that was difficult] but just finding consistency and building the working mentality, that was the toughest thing.”
Sakamoto is this week up 15 spots to No. 122 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, guaranteeing himself a new career high as he edges closer to a Top 100 debut. Into the third round in Shanghai, Sakamoto will face World No. 9 Alex de Minaur on Sunday in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.
“It gives me a lot of confidence,” Sakamoto said about his run in Shanghai. “I felt that I am playing out of my mind this week, and that’s still the average of what top players deliver day in, day out. So it's another motivation.”
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