Akira Santillan | Bio | ATP Tour

Began playing tennis at age 5 after father encouraged him to do so.
Father, Dean, is South African and served as his junior coach; mother, Harumi, is Japanese.
Moved to Gold Coast, Australia for tennis at age 7.
Stopped going to school at age 13.
Changed nationality from Australia to Japan in 2015 and from Japan to Australia in 2017.
Speaks English, Japanese and a little Spanish.
Favourite surfaces aregrass and indoor hard.
Favourite shots are forehand and drop shot.
Favourite tournament is Australian Open.
Idols growing up were Carlos Moya and Roger Federer.
Enjoys watching basketball and playing video games (Fortnite and FIFA).
Supports Manchester City football club and NBA's Los Angeles Clippers.
Favourite athlete is Usain Bolt.
Missed 1st 11 weeks of 2018 season due to lower back injury.

(UPDATED 3 JULY 2018)

Achieved career-high No. 144 on 13 November 2017 after reaching Kobe, JPN Challenger SF. Broke into Top 200 on 6 February 2017 following run to Burnie, AUS Challenger SF. Improved year-end ranking in 4 straight seasons (2014-17).
Earned 1st ATP World Tour victory at 2017 Newport over fellow #NextGenATP player Mmoh. Three days earlier, captured title in 1st ATP Challenger Tour final at 2017 Winnetka, USA.
Posted 27-19 record at Challengers in 2017, including SFs at Burnie, AUS; Taipei, TPE; Ho Chi Minh City, VIE and Kobe, JPN.
Went 44-10 with 5 titles on ITF Futures Circuit in 2016, finishing season on 23-1 run.
Peaked at No. 7 in junior rankings on 6 July 2015. Posted 94-40 record on ITF Junior Circuit with wins over fellow #NextGenATP players Hurkacz, Kwon, Lee, Mmoh and Ruud. Advanced to Grand Slam junior doubles finals at 2014 Roland Garros w/Miedler and 2015 Wimbledon w/Opelka. In singles, reached 2015 Australian Open junior SF.