Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese man to crack the ATP top 10 and reach a Grand Slam singles final, will retire at the end of the 2026 season. The 36-year-old announced the decision on social media Saturday, capping a career defined by barrier-breaking achievements and persistent injury battles. 'I can proudly say that I gave it my all,' Nishikori wrote. 'I am truly happy to have walked this path.'
The announcement landed quietly on a Saturday morning, a written message posted across his social channels. No press conference. No farewell tour fanfare yet.
Just words from a player whose body finally told him what his mind did not want to hear. Nishikori’s current ranking tells a brutal story. He sits at 464th in the world.
A player who once stood at number four, who beat Novak Djokovic on the sport’s biggest stages, now grinds through Challenger Tour events. His last main-draw ATP appearance came at the Cincinnati Open in August 2025. That is a long fall. 'To be honest, I still wish I could continue my playing career,' he wrote.
The sentence hangs there. A confession. Injuries became the antagonist in Nishikori’s narrative.
A right wrist problem required surgery in 2019. An elbow followed. Then a hip.
The list accumulated like lost sets. 'There were also times when I was overwhelmed by frustration and anxiety due to repeated injuries that prevented me from playing as I wanted,' he said. His love for the game pulled him back each time. Until now.
He started his professional career in 2007 as a teenager from Shimane Prefecture, a region better known for its ancient shrine than its tennis prospects. Nishikori moved to Florida at 14 to train at the IMG Academy. The move was radical for a Japanese player at the time.
It worked. He won his first ATP title at Delray Beach in 2008. He was 18 years old.
Twelve tour-level trophies followed. The biggest moments came on the hard courts of New York. At the 2014 US Open, Nishikori did what few thought possible.
He outlasted Djokovic in a four-set semi-final played under brutal heat. Djokovic was the world number one. The 24-time Grand Slam champion.
Nishikori won 6-4, 1-6, 7-6, 6-3. 'Reaching the ATP Tour, playing at the highest level of competition and maintaining a presence in the top 10 is something I am extremely proud of,' Nishikori said. That victory made him the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final in the Open Era. He faced Marin Cilic two days later.
Cilic won in straight sets. Nishikori wept during the trophy ceremony. The moment was not a defeat.
It was a breakthrough for an entire region. The policy says one thing. The reality says another.
Japan had produced top-50 players before. Shuzo Matsuoka reached a Wimbledon quarter-final in 1995. But no one had kicked the door fully open until Nishikori.
His success created a template. Today, Japan has multiple men inside the top 100. Players like Yoshihito Nishioka and Taro Daniel cite Nishikori as the reason they believed it was possible.
His 2016 Olympic bronze medal in Rio added another line to a résumé no Japanese man had written before. He beat Rafael Nadal in the bronze-medal match. Nadal, the 14-time French Open champion.
Nishikori won 6-2, 6-7, 6-3. The medal hangs as a tangible piece of a career built on firsts. 'Whether in victory or defeat, the special atmosphere I felt in packed arenas is irreplaceable,' Nishikori wrote. That atmosphere followed him everywhere.
Tokyo’s Ariake Coliseum roared for him. Arthur Ashe Stadium embraced him. He became a global star in a sport that craves crossover appeal.
Sponsors lined up. Uniqlo. Nissin.
Japan Airlines. His earnings off the court reportedly exceeded $30 million annually at his peak. He was not just a tennis player.
He was an industry. What this actually means for your family. A generation of Japanese children picked up rackets because Nishikori made tennis visible on morning news programs.
Tennis club enrollment in Japan surged 22% between 2014 and 2016, according to the Japan Tennis Association. The 'Nishikori Effect' became a measurable economic and cultural force. Parents who never watched tennis suddenly knew what a forehand winner looked like.
The injuries robbed him of his prime years. From 2017 onward, he never played a full season. He withdrew from tournaments more often than he completed them.
That feels like a different era now. The pandemic arrived. His body kept breaking.
The Challenger Tour became his reality. 'Even so, my love for tennis and my belief that I could become a stronger player always brought me back to the court,' he said. That belief sustained him through rehabilitation sessions that outnumbered matches. Through flights to minor-league events in cities that did not have his face on billboards.
He kept chasing the feeling. 'I will cherish every moment of the remaining matches and fight to the very end,' Nishikori wrote. The 2026 season now becomes a farewell tour. Which tournaments he will play remains unclear.
A wildcard into the US Open seems likely. Tokyo’s Japan Open would be a fitting stage. The All England Club might offer him one last Wimbledon appearance.
Both sides claim victory. Here are the numbers. Nishikori won 12 ATP titles.
He earned over $25 million in prize money. He spent 200 weeks inside the top 10. He beat Djokovic twice.
He beat Andy Murray. The Big Four all fell to him at some point. Few players outside the elite can say that.
His legacy extends beyond statistics. He proved that a player from East Asia could compete at tennis’s highest level without apology. He did it with a quiet ferocity.
His on-court demeanor was calm. His groundstrokes were not. He took the ball early.
He redirected pace. He moved like a man who studied the geometry of the court and found shortcuts no one else saw. 'I feel that all of these experiences have enriched and shaped my life,' Nishikori said. 'I am deeply grateful to my family and to everyone who has supported me at all times.'
Why It Matters: Nishikori’s retirement closes the career of the most influential male tennis player Asia has ever produced. His success reshaped Japan’s tennis infrastructure, inspired a generation of players across the continent, and proved that the sport’s power centers could shift eastward. For the ATP Tour, his departure removes a commercial bridge to one of the world’s largest sports markets at a moment when China and Japan are investing heavily in player development.
The tour will now search for its next Asian star. - Nishikori became the first Japanese man to reach a Grand Slam singles final and the first to break into the ATP top 10, peaking at world No. 4. - His 2014 US Open semi-final victory over Novak Djokovic stands as one of the tournament’s great upsets and a landmark moment for Asian tennis. - Persistent wrist, elbow, hip, and shoulder injuries limited him to sporadic appearances after 2019, dropping his ranking to 464th. - His career inspired measurable growth in Japanese tennis participation and created a commercial blueprint for Asian players on the ATP Tour. The remaining months will be emotional. Nishikori will play tournaments with the knowledge that each handshake at the net could be his last.
Fans will fill stadiums to say goodbye. The man who gave Japanese tennis its greatest moments will walk off the court one final time. The date is not set.
The destination is. He leaves as the player who made an entire nation believe.
Key Takeaways
— - Nishikori became the first Japanese man to reach a Grand Slam singles final and the first to break into the ATP top 10, peaking at world No. 4.
— - His 2014 US Open semi-final victory over Novak Djokovic stands as one of the tournament's great upsets and a landmark moment for Asian tennis.
— - Persistent wrist, elbow, hip, and shoulder injuries limited him to sporadic appearances after 2019, dropping his ranking to 464th.
— - His career inspired measurable growth in Japanese tennis participation and created a commercial blueprint for Asian players on the ATP Tour.
Source: BBC Sport
