Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori to retire at end of 2026 tennis season

Kei Nishikori (Christopher Johnson, Wikimedia Commons)

According to Kieran King of The Mirror on Friday, Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori will retire from professional tennis at the age of 36 at the end of the 2025 tennis season. Nishikori is best known for reaching the final of the 2014 United States Open.

Nishikori was ranked as high as fourth in the world. He has a career singles record of 451 wins and 231 losses for a winning percentage of .661.

When Nishikori reached the 2014 United States Open, he lost to Marin Cilic of Croatia in the final, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. The fact that Nishikori and Cilic got to the U.S. Open final that year at all was a gigantic surprise. That is because Nishikori and Cilic played in an era that was dominated by the big three–Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Nishikori beat three top five players on his way to the 2014 US Open final. He beat Canadian Milos Raonic, the fifth seed, 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 in the fourth round, in a match that went four hours and 19 minutes. Nishikori then beat the third seed, Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, in another five set marathon in the quarterfinals, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, and then the first seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the semifinals, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6, 6-3.

Throughout his career, Nishikori won 12 ATP titles. He won Delray Beach in 2008, the Japan Open in 2012 and 2014, Memphis four straight years from 2013 to 2016, the Barcelona Open in 2014 and 2015, the Malaysian Open in 2014, the Washington Open in 2015, and the Brisbane International in 2019. Nishikori also won the bronze medal in men’s tennis at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

At the beginning of his tennis career, Nishikori attended the Bollettieri Tennis Academy. Among his coaches included Michael Chang, Brad Gilbert and Thomas Johansson.