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Kei Nishikori Facts & Worksheets

Kei Nishikori is a professional tennis player from Japan. The Association of Tennis Professionals ranks him as world no. 31.

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Kei Nishikori is a professional tennis player from Japan. The Association of Tennis Professionals ranks him as world no. 31. He is also the Top Asian player in the history of the FedEx ATP Rankings.

See the fact file below for more information on theKei Nishikori or alternatively, you can download our 27-page Kei Nishikori worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE

  • Kei Nishikori was born in Japan in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture.
  • His father is an engineer while his mother is a piano teacher.
  • At the age of 5, Kei Nishikori began playing tennis.
  • In May 2001, he won the All-Japan Selected Junior Tennis Championship. In July of the same year, he got the All-Japan Elementary School Tennis Championship and in August, the All-Japan Junior Tennis Championship for kids under 12.
  • He graduated from Aomori-Yamada High school in the same year.
  • Nishikori was then selected by the Masaaki Morita Tennis Fund as one of their certified players.
  • In 2004, aged 14, he moved to Bradenton, Florida and joined the IMG Academy.
  • Brad Gilbert coached him from 2010-2011. Dante Bottini became his coach in December 2010, until Nishikori announced through Twitter on October 15, 2019 that he had decided to part ways with Bottini.
  • In January 2014, Michael Chang, former world no. 2, also joined his coaching team.
  • Another former tennis player, Max Mirnyi, joined Chang in coaching Nishikori.

CAREER

  • He achieved a combined ranking of world no. 7 in July 2006 for his junior career, amassing a 73-37 win/loss record and 53-31 in singles and doubles respectively.
  • Nishikori first played as a professional tennis player at the Japan Open in October 2007.
  • In February 2008, he won his first ATP Tour event at the international championship held at Delray Beach.
  • On August 30, 2008, he reached the last 16 of the US Open, becoming the first Japanese player to do so in 71 years.
  • On March 25, 2009, he was named 2008 ATP Newcomer of the Year, making him the first Asian player to receive the award.
  • Nishikori had to withdraw from the 2009 US Open, French Open, and Wimbledon due to a stress fracture on his right elbow.
  • He was able to return to playing in February 2010, and won a number of tournaments on the Challenger circuit.
  • By the end of the 2010 season, he had returned to the top 100.
  • He reached the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters and became the highest-ranked Japanese player, reaching no. 30 to beat Shuzo Matsuoka (no. 46).
  • He then defeated world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in their semifinal at the Swiss Indoor Championship.
  • Nishikori’s ranking rose to no. 20 in 2012 after he reached the Australian Open quarterfinal.
  • He also played in the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships and reached the quarterfinals.
  • On October 7, 2012, he won the Rakuten Japan Open held in Tokyo and became the world no. 15.
  • His win at the Japan Open was also historic as he was the first Japanese to win said tournament in its 41 years.
  • Nishikori won his third ATP Tour title in Memphis in 2013.
  • He then played in the Davis Cup for Japan, helping them reach the World Group.
  • In 2014, he won the Memphis title again, reached the semifinals of the Miami Masters, won his second ATP 500 title in Barcelona, played at the finals of Madrid Masters and breaking into the world top 10, landing on No.9 on May 12.
  • Nishikori became the first Asian male to play in the Grand Slam after winning against several higher-ranked players at the US Open.
  • After his Grand Slam, he won the titles of Malaysia Open and Rakuten Japan Open, in 2 consecutive weeks.
  • Nishikori qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals and got the No. 5 rank at the end of the year.
  • For three consecutive years, he won the Memphis title.
  • Nishikori also got to the Mexico Open finals right after his Memphis play in 2015 and was ranked No. 4, his highest so far.
  • He retained his Barcelona Open title in April 2015 and in July, he won the City Open held in Washington.
  • He also played, for the second consecutive year, in the end-of-season ATP World Tour Finals.
  • In 2016, he won his 11th career title at the Memphis Open.
  • After 96 years of tennis in Japan, Kei Nishikori won a bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
  • He also played for Japan in the Davis Cup Play-Off and helped Japan back into the Davis Cup World Group in 2017.
  • He was the fifth to qualify for the 2016 ATP World Tour Finals, and ended his season as world no. 5.
  • In 2017, Nishikori was able to play at Brisbane and the Australian Open but withdrew from the US Open due to a tear in one of the tendons in his right wrist which was revealed after subsequent scans.
  • He then announced that he would not be able to play for the rest of the season, making his ranking drop to no. 22.
  • After his 5-month injury layoff, he returned in 2018 by playing at the American Challenger Tour events.
  • He won his sixth ATP Challenger career title in Dallas after defeating Mackenzie McDonald.
  • Nishikori also competed at the inaugural ATP 250 tournament held in New York.
  • Despite having some elbow pain, Nishikori reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for the first time in his career, successfully reaching the quarterfinals of every grand slam event of the season.
  • He played several more matches and was able to collect enough points to qualify for the ATP Finals where he finally ended his six-match losing streak against Roger Federer.
  • Nishikori was ranked world no. 9 at the end of the season.
  • In 2019, he won his first Brisbane International title after 9 consecutive final losses.
  • On March 16, 2020, he was ranked world no. 31.

EQUIPMENT AND ENDORSEMENTS

  • Nishikori used the Wilson Burn 95 from 2015 to 2018, and started using the Wilson Ultra 95 in 2019.
  • His clothes are from the Japanese brand Uniqlo. From 2017, he started using red Nike Vapor Tour shoes after a decade of playing with Adidas.
  • Also, his sleeve often has a Cup Noodles badge, as he is sponsored by Nissin Foods.
  • In 2011, he was featured in a commercial for a sports drink, Weider in Jelly, made by the Morinaga & Company.
  • Nishikori also brings along with him a character from the Mother/Earthbound video game, called Mr. Saturn.

Kei Nishikori Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Kei Nishikori across 27 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Kei Nishikori worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Kei Nishikori who is a professional tennis player from Japan. The Association of Tennis Professionals ranks him as world no. 31. He is also the Top Asian player in the history of the FedEx ATP Rankings.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Player Stats
  • Shots of His Career
  • Kei Plays
  • Trained and Coached
  • Top Number
  • Tennis Groups
  • Tournament Plays
  • Country Player
  • To Play Tennis
  • Playtime!

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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