Japan announces tennis contingent for Paris Olympics 2024; Naomi Osaka, Kei Nishikori to lead

Naomi Osaka also participated at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Japan have announced their tennis contingent for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. The contingent includes the names of four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, 2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori and young Japanese tennis star Moyuka Uchijima.

Naomi Osaka returned to professional tennis earlier this year at the 2024 Brisbane International. However, she was eliminated in the second round at the competition by Karolina Pliskova. Osaka, who has won four hard court Grand Slams, had a below-par campaign before April as he failed to reach the Round of 16 at any tournament.

However, after more than 600 days, she won her first clay court match against Greet Minnen at the WTA 1000 Madrid Open. Interestingly, she stunned Marta Kostyuk and Daria Kasatkina in the initial two rounds at the Italian Open before losing to China’s Qinwen Zheng.

However, she gave a memorable performance in the second round at the 2024 French Open, where she played a three-set thriller against World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. Naomi Osaka was on the verge of winning the match; however, Swiatek’s prowess on clay helped the Pole succeed.

Also Read: Wimbledon 2024: Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu, Angelique Kerber get wildcard entry

Meanwhile, Kei Nishikori has returned to the sport after a prolonged hiatus. The Japanese tennis star has only played three matches in 2024, losing two of them. The former World No. 4 is not in his best form, however, he’d be looking forward to performing better at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

With two seasoned professionals, Japan are also set to send 22-year-old Moyuka Uchijima to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Uchijima is yet to lift a major title in her professional career, but she has won 13 ITF career titles. Currently ranked 70, the Japanese tennis star can be a surprise package at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

🇯🇵 🇯🇵 🇯🇵Japan announces their singles line-up for the Paris 2024 Olympics#Paris2024 | #Olympics pic.twitter.com/PK3PyiEhvj

— ITF (@ITFTennis) June 24, 2024

However, World No. 83 Taro Daniel failed to secure a spot at the Paris Games. Daniel recently suffered a disappointing 6-1, 6-0 defeat against Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut. Meanwhile, he was eliminated in the first round at the 2024 French Open by Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev.

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