Sports

[NOTES on a SCORECARD] For Kei Nishikori, the Paris Olympics Should be His Competitive Farewell

Veteran tennis player Kei Nishikori has coped with a slew of physical setbacks in recent years. Wrapping up his career in Paris would be a fitting conclusion.

Published

3 months ago

July 5, 2024

Jack Gallagher

Kei Nishikori competes in a first-round men's singles match at Wimbledon on July 2, 2024, in London. The match was completed a day later. (KYODO)

Read the full story on SportsLook - [NOTES on a SCORECARD] For Kei Nishikori, the Paris Olympics Should be His Competitive Farewell

The toughest decision a professional athlete will face in their career is determining when it is time to retire. For tennis great Kei Nishikori, the hour is not just approaching, it is here.

The finest tennis player in Japanese history, Nishikori's career soared to incredible heights in his prime. He made the US Open final in 2014 at 24, becoming the first singles player from Japan in the Open Era (since 1968) to make a Grand Slam title match.

Nishikori won 12 ATP Tour titles and reached the No 4 ranking in the world, behind the legendary big three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Injuries Take Their Toll

It was an amazing run for the 34-year-old from Shimane Prefecture, who left Japan at the age of 14 to train at the IMG Academy in Florida. But those days are far in the past for Nishikori, who has been beset by a continuous cycle of injury, rehabilitation or surgery, and constant withdrawals from tournaments due to physical issues in recent years.

To put it simply, Nishikori's body is breaking down and not responding to treatment. His various maladies have included hip, knee, shoulder and wrist injuries.

Nishikori, who is highly respected by his fellow players on the Tour, has seen his current ranking slump to 401st in the world. He had missed eight of the past nine Grand Slams prior to this month's Wimbledon due to injury, and was forced to withdraw from the only one he played in, the 2024 French Open, during his second-round match with shoulder trouble.

Nishikori's most recent pullout came on June 25, when he withdrew from the Rothesay International, a Wimbledon warmup tournament in Eastbourne, England, with a right ankle ailment. The star still held out hope he could play at Wimbledon.

"I'll see how it goes for a few days," Nishikori stated. "I can't promise, but I'll try to make it."

Nishikori did play at Wimbledon, but lost in the first round to France's Arthur Rinderknech in five sets on July 3.

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Author: Jack Gallagher

The author is a veteran sports journalist and one of the world's foremost figure skating experts. Find articles and podcasts by Jack on his author page, and find him on X (formerly Twitter) @sportsjapan.