What happened to Kei Nishikori? The former US Open finalist's career has taken a sad turn

In the past when thinking of Asian tennis players on the ATP Tour, there is one player that everyone thinks of. A trailblazer for tennis in that part of the world, Kei Nishikori’s career was one of delight and triumph. However, all good things have to end at some point.

Once Japan and Asia’s next big tennis hope, he put the sport on the map and truly excelled at it in a time where the impenetrable force of the ‘Big Three’ terrorised most. A small band of challengers fought for scraps, and Nishikori was one of them still to have success and make out a tremendous tennis career in the process.

In his pomp, he was a danger to all. His US Open final run in 2014 was his finest hour, but it was not converted into silverware in a huge opportunity missed capitalised on by an opportunistic Marin Cilic.

In truth, while he did surge up the rankings, his title haul is depleted of anything significant that earns him that right of being up there. No Grand Slam or Masters 1000 titles may be surprising to some, but his inability to get over the line in the big contests may be put down to the competition he was facing, but that cannot be a valid excuse.

At the end of the day, his tennis tail has been one rigged by injuries pulling him away from where he wanted to be. He was tormented at the end of his career, languishing far down the rankings while struggling to even make an impact on the Challenger Tour. With 2026 set to be his last dance, those peaks of a decade ago feel like a long time ago with a past its prime tennis player slowly fluttering away from the spotlight.

One unique thing about Nishikori was the amusing times of his first and last final, both coming years apart from the next recent final. His last final came back in 2025, six years following from the last one. The first came in 2008 at the Delray Beach Open and ended victorious as he became a more recognisable name. Only 18 at the time, he backed it up with a fourth round run at the US Open.

His lightening quick pace and aggressive nature caught the eye immediately, but his time in the spotlight would be short lived for the time being. He had to be patient with injuries ruining his progress in his early years on the tour. It would have to be something that he would need to learn to live with. Surgery on his right elbow prevented much action in 2009 and he was forced to climb back up the order again the next year.

He made it to his next ATP final, losing on clay before Roger Federer defeated him in his first ATP 500 final at the Swiss Indoors. Before this, he got the better of former Australian Open finalist Jo Wilfried Tsonga enroute to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters. The talent was obvious; it was not all about continuing that on the big stage.

2012 was when he fully established himself as a threat. Still young, he broke into the top 20. From here until 2020, he would end outside of it just once. A first Grand Slam quarter-final Down Under was another step in the right direction with success coming on home soil at the Japan Open, a sweet and memorable title triumph. 2013 saw his first ATP 500 title be won at the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships. In Madrid, he defeated Roger Federer, a statement of intent. Nevertheless, progress was limited once more thanks to his latest injury issues.

2014 was the defining year in the Japanese tennis career. The most prominent thing to note was his US Open final run, but there were other headlines being created. He defended his title won in the USA the year before ahead of almost completing a double triumph on Spanish soil. After winning the Barcelona Open, he was defeated in the Madrid Open final against none other than Rafael Nadal, his first ever Masters 1000 final.

Then came what could have been his day of destiny. No player representing an Asian country had won an ATP Grand Slam title, and that would still be the case to this day. Enroute to the final at Flushing Meadows, defeated the fifth seed Milos Raonic in the last-16 before downing Stan Wawrinka to set up a tie against Novak Djokovic. He became the first Asian man in the Open Era to reach a major final after that hugely significant win over Djokovic, but he could not prevent Cilic from taking the glory in New York, losing 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

It was not all doom and gloom if you can say that after reaching a Grand Slam final and making a lot of history in the process. It was all about kicking on from there, and titles in Malaysia and Japan proved he was in a winning type of mood. He would culminate the year debuting in the ATP Finals. He made it out of the round robin phase before Djokovic got revenge. This was a huge opportunity missed with Federer withdrawing from the final due to a back injury, handing the Serbian the title.

Three more titles would come in 2015 coming in Memphis, Barcelona and Washington D.C. He continued his fine form at Grand Slam level with quarter-finals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. All of this helped him reaching a career high of fourth in the world on 2nd March 2015. However, a disappointing exit in the first round of the US Open was a minor setback.

From April 2016 to the end of 2018, Nishikori would reach nine finals. He lost in all of them. Four of them came in 2016, and they were high calibre ones at that. It was a double dose of Djokovic despair at Masters 1000 level in Miami and Canada while Nadal ended his streak of success in Barcelona. An old foe prevented Nishikori from finally getting his hands on the Swiss Indoors trophy as Cilic came out on top.

Most significantly was his run in the 2016 Olympics. Proudly wearing the Japanese garments, he did his country proud in a run to the semi-finals. Andy Murray proved too strong for him on that occasion but he would not leave Rio de Janeiro empty handed, seeing off Nadal in three sets for the bronze medal.

2017 was promising with a number of big quarter-finals reached, but a serious wrist injury prevented him front competing in the second half of the season. He was much stronger the next year as he climbed back in the top 20 with a much improved year that saw him qualify for the ATP Finals for the fourth and final time. Nadal was basically unbeatable in Monte-Carlo, and that proved the case this time around in his fourth and final Masters 1000 final. Another final defeat in Japan was followed by failure at the final hurdle once more, this time in Vienna to the hands of Kevin Anderson.

Before that was another deep US Open run. He extracted his vengeance on a certain Cilic in the quarter-finals, coming back from 2-1 down as he once again showed his class in best-of-five matches. However, a familiar foe in the form of Djokovic took him down in the last-four.

2019 finally brought a first title since February 2016, winning the Brisbane International. Three consecutive major quarter-finals saw him return to the top five in the world at one point, ending the year in ninth. From this point on, it would not be so easy.

COVID-19 proved troublesome for many, and Nishikori suffered greatly. His injury flare ups continued and while there were signs of his brilliant best glimmering through, overall it was a struggle. His momentum shattered, he could not muster up any sort of form between 2020 and 2021. By the end of 2022, he was ranked outside of the top 700 with his tennis career in tatters. He was a seldom seen man on court with his injury issues taking a turn for the worse. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left hip in January 2022 other trying other forms of rehabilitation.

At 34-years-old, his latest comeback was underway, and this one was a lot less impressive. A Canadian Open quarter-final in 2024 was followed by a first final since Brisbane 2019 at the Hong Kong Open, failing to add to the 12 ATP titles amassed. The hunger to battle at the top was no more, hence the unrealistic task in this stage of his career. He battled on, more recently featuring on the Challenger Tour with limited success. In April of this year, he confirmed his intentions of retiring from tennis at the end of 2026 with his time competing finally dwindling to what will be a sudden halt.

In a statement, he wrote: "Since I was a child, I have been passionate about tennis and I have continued to pursue it with only one dream in my heart: 'I want to compete on the world stage.' 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. Whether in victory or defeat, the special atmosphere I felt in packed arenas is irreplaceable."

Tennis can be a cruel sport. You look at other players like Nick Kyrgios and Dominic Thiem who competed at the top of the sport before injuries took away whatever chances they had with competing with the best. With Nishikori, it is a similar tale.

At his best one of the most highly regarded players in the world. His movement and combination play were at the elite level with a wicked backhand and a delightful return which absorbed the power from other players and made him a menace to play against. He had some memorable results against the best players in the world - Djokovic in the 2014 US Open and Nadal at the 2016 Olympics spring to mind.

What he will be looked down upon compared to other challengers in this era was his lack of big titles won. While the 'Big Three' swept most titles up, you had Murray, Cilic, Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem all taste major success with others capitalising at Masters 1000 level in this era. Nishikori's best title came at ATP 500 level. A glaring miss on his CV with a Grand Slam and four Masters 1000 finals lost.

Earlier in his career, the injury problem which proved detrimental were skirted around. While it messed up with his momentum in his youth and specifically 2017, he always jumped back with terrific resilience and class. As he got older, his body reacted differently and at the end of the day he could not live with it. The bugging hip issue needed to be dealt with and that was sadly that. Maybe he could have competed some more deep runs on the big stage but when entering his early 30s, his peak was likely not going to last too much longer, although we will never know that.

His achievements as a trailblazer for tennis in Japan and Asia cannot be underestimated. On the WTA Tour Naomi Osaka, Qinwen Zheng and Li Na all enjoyed huge success on the big stage with Alexandra Eala now becoming a force to be reckoned with as he drags along a huge fanbase to each tournament. Nishikori was standing alone in this role on the ATP Tour, and there was not much competition from that area of the world. He will be remembered as a trailblazer by many, while also one of the best players not to taste major glory to others.