{
  "id": 12485544,
  "title": "Tennis: Nishikori bids career farewell still in love with sport",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/tennis-nishikori-bids-career-farewell-still-in-love-with-sport",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-06T22:30:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Mainichi",
    "slug": "the-mainichi",
    "url": "https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20261006/p2g/00m/0sp/045000c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Tokyo (Kyodo) -- Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori bid farewell to his illustrious career during a retirement ceremony on the final day of the Japan Open championship on Tuesday. The 36-year-old appeared before a massive crowd at Tokyo's Ariake Colosseum, eager to pay tribute to the country's top male tennis player, who reached a world ranking of No. 4 and was the first Grand Slam singles finalist for Japan at the 2014 U.S. Open. Nishikori, a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, had announced his retirement in late April, losing in the first round of his final tournament at the Japan Open on Thursday to Frances Tiafoe of the United States 6-4, 6-4. The highlight reel shown during the send-off featured Nishikori's first victory over Roger Federer in 2013, his consecutive ATP Tour titles in Barcelona in 2014 and 2015, and various injury setbacks. Nishikori expressed his gratitude for the support he received during his last matches and his emotions upon watching the highlight reel, stating, \"What's left in my head are the best scenes, those of winning championships. I especially remember winning here vividly.\" Tennis legends Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal sent their tributes to Nishikori, along with current stars like Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz, who won the Japan Open later in the day. Nishikori's coach, Michael Chang, called him an \"incredibly gifted athlete\" and noted that Nishikori had never seen anyone grasp coaching concepts as quickly as he did. Masaaki Morita, a former Sony executive and current honorary adviser of the Japan Tennis Association, regretted sending Nishikori to the IMG Academy in Florida at age 13 but expressed his gratitude for his success. Nishikori thanked his parents, sister, and all those who supported him from a young age, saying he wanted to win a Grand Slam and be ranked No. 1 since elementary school. Despite not achieving his dream of multiple gold medals and Grand Slam titles, Nishikori said he had a great tennis career and hoped to return to help strengthen Japanese and Asian tennis.",
  "summary": "TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's Kei Nishikori said his love for tennis remains unchanged as he bid farewell to his storied career at a retirement ceremony Tu",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}