New wave of Japanese talent make their presence felt at US Open
They are in every part of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this week, more prevalent than expensive beverages and people complaining about the heat.
Indeed, everywhere you look in the girls draw of the US Open Junior Championships, there is a top Japanese player.
'Look, here’s No. 3 seed Sayaka Ishii', who looked impressive in a first-round win', 'Come watch No. 4 Sara Saito', who advanced on Monday as well.
No. 5 seed Mayu Crossley has been outstanding this year but had to withdraw before her first match. 'Don’t worry, No. 6 seed Ena Koike is also here for Japan and has cruised into the second round."
That’s right, four of the top six girls' seeds at the US Open are from Japan and, in all, there were seven Japanese players in the 64-strong girls' draw.
Considering Japan hasn’t had huge depth of female WTA players in a long while, this is an exciting development for the nation.
“We’re proud to represent Japan; we support each other,” said Ishii after her first-round victory on Monday. “It’s very exciting that we’re all here and doing well.”
Ishii and Koike, playing doubles and seeded No. 2 at the U.S. Open, both train together at the IMG Academy in Florida. The two friends have grown up together in Tokyo and watched each other develop as players, Ishii said.
Ishii, the No. 3 seed, comes from very good athletic genes; her father, Takuro, was one of the best shortstops in Japan in the late 1990s and 2000s, starring for the Yokohama BayStars and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp from 1989-2012, racking up 2,432 hits.
Asked if her father supports her athletic career, Ishii said: “Yes, very much. He’s very proud. He tries to give me tips.”
“But,” she said with a big laugh. “He doesn’t know much about tennis.”
Ishii, 18, has had a fine 2023 season, reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon (losing to eventual champion Clervie Ngounoue), and the final four at the Australian Open, falling to eventual two-time Grand Slam winner Alina Korneeva.
The 16-year-old Koike has succeeded as well this year, getting to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon (where she lost to Korneeva) and made it to the third round at the Australian Open.
Saito, also 16 and from Gunma, has been ranked as high as No. 2. in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings this year, and reached the second round at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, while topping the podium at two J300 events.
“I’ve been training since I was little, so it’s very satisfying to be able to compete on this stage,” Saito said.
Asked about the friendships she has with the other young Japanese players, Saito said: “We practice together, we work hard together and we raise each other up.
“When we play against each other, I want to win but off-court everyone is very friendly."
Crossley, who had to withdraw due to a wrist injury right before her first-round singles match, won the prestigious Orange Bowl last December, and was a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros this year.
Japan has produced some top women’s players, of course. Naomi Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam signles champion, while Kimiko Date rose as high as No. 4 in the WTA rankings in the mid-1990s. Ai Sugiyama, meanwhile, is a former Top 10 singles player who was ranked No. 1 in doubles in 2000.
It may well be worth keeping a very close eye on this new crop of rising Japanese stars.
There were no significant upsets on Day 2 of the U.S. Open in singles, as top seed Renata Jamrichova led the parade of victors.
Click here for a full list of results from the 2023 US Open Junior Championships.