30 Killer Facts About Kei Nishikori That Will Blow Your Mind

Kei Nishikori, one of the best and most talented tennis players in history, is known for his dominating groundstrokes which pushes his opponents around. He has ability to play defensively and hit consistently to wear out his opponents, thus earning comments that he has the offensive ability of Fernando González and the defensive skills of Novak Djokovic. He has a flat first serve that can reach speeds of up to 120 mph and employs a topspin second serve. Here are some really interesting facts about the player that will make you love him more:

"Kei Nishikori" by Carine06 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

1.  Kei Nishikori is the second male Japanese player to have been ranked in the top 5 in singles (after Jiro Sato), and the only one to do so in the Open Era.
2.  At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he defeated Rafael Nadal to win the bronze medal bringing Japan its first Olympic tennis medal in 96 years.
3.  He was the runner-up at the 2014 US Open, making him the first male player representing an Asian country to reach a Grand Slam singles final.
4.  He became the first man from Asia to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals and reached the semifinals in 2014 and 2016.
5.  He holds the record for the highest win percentage in matches extending to 5 sets, with a record of 27-7 and a win percentage of 79.4%.
6.  Kei Nishikori was born on December 29, 1989, to Kiyoshi and Eri in Matsue in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. He has an older sister.
7.  His father is an engineer, while his mother is a piano teacher. His sister graduated from college and works in Tokyo.
8.  He started playing tennis at the age of five, and won his first championship at the All Japan Tennis Championships for Kids in 2001.
9.  He graduated from Aomori-Yamada High School, following which he moved to Bradenton, Florida to join the IMG Academy in 2004 at 14 years of age.
10.  Since December 2010, he has been coached by Dante Bottini, with former world No. 2 Michael Chang, added to his coaching team in January 2014.

"Kei Nishikori" by Carine06 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

11.  But, Bottini was removed from the team in 2019, and former Belarusian player Max Mirnyi was added to the coaching team in early 2020.
12.  In April 2002, he played his first junior match at the very young age of 13, at a grade 1 tournament in Japan.
13.  He won the 2004 title at the Riad 21 Tournament in Rabat, Morocco. He was a boys' singles quarter-finalist at the 2006 Junior French Open.
14.  Nishikori won the 2007 Luxilon Cup held at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open by defeating Michael McClune. In May 2006, he qualified for the ITF Futures event in Mazatlán, Mexico, where he was victorious in the men's singles.
15.  Ranking World No. 244, he entered the Delray Beach tournament as a qualifier, and proceeded to win the event, by defeating Nicolás Todero, Alex Bogomolov, Jr., Florian Mayer, Amer Delić, Bobby Reynolds, Sam Querrey and the top seed James Blake.
16.  With this victory in the final where he upset Blake in three sets, he became the first Japanese man in nearly 16 years to win an ATP event.
17.  On August 30, 2008, he became the first Japanese player to reach the round of 16 at the US Open in 71 years, when he beat fourth seed David Ferrer in five sets
18.  He was named as the 2008 ATP Newcomer of the Year on March 25, 2009, becoming the first Asian player to win the award.
19.  However, he had a very disappointing 2009 season, as he had to withdraw from the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open because of an injured right elbow.
20.  He reached a career-high of world No. 30, with his victory at the Shanghai Masters semifinal in the year 2011, breaking the previous Japanese mark of No. 46, set by Shuzo Matsuoka in July 1992.

"Kei Nishikori" by ThoamsB is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

21.  At the 2012 Australian Open, Nishikori defeated sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the quarterfinals, becoming the first Japanese male player to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 80 years.
22.  He won the Rakuten Japan Open in Tokyo against sixth seed Milos Raonic of Canada on October 7, 2012, to win his first ATP 500 series title and second career ATP Tour title.
23.  With this historic victory, he became the first Japanese man to win the Japan Open in its 41-year history. He also reached his then-career high ranking of World No. 15.
24.  Due to an injury, he did not play in any championship games, since the 2019 US Open and then the coronavirus pandemic. He also tested positive for COVID-19 in August 2020.
25.  In December 2020, he married his long-term girlfriend Mai Yamauchi in a private ceremony in his native. The couple currently resides in Bradenton, Florida, United States.
26.  Nishikori won his eighth singles title and became the first ever player to win the Memphis Open three times in a row, beating Kevin Anderson in straight sets in the final in February 2015.
27.  He entered the 2018 Monte-Carlo Masters for the first time since 2012, having never progressed past the third round at the tournament before.
28.  He reached his 4th career Masters 1000 finals, defeating Tomas Berdych, Daniil Medvedev, Andreas Seppi, Marin Cilic, and Alexander Zverev, but lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the finals.
29.  In the 2021 season, he made his first quarterfinal since Wimbledon 2019 in Rotterdam, after beating 7th seed Félix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur. He lost to Borna Ćorić in 2 tiebreak sets.
30.  At the 2021 Olympics, he recorded his first top 10 win since 2018 by beating Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the first round. He reached the quarterfinals beating Marcos Giron and Ilya Ivashka, but lost in straight sets to Novak Djokovic.
31.  Kei Nishikori Net Worth: $24 Million