Tennis in ‘land of the rising sun’
From the 1930s Japan has consistently maintained a status of being one of Asias top three nations in Tennis. Among Japanese recreational and competition Tennis has a recognised status. Their representation in international Tennis events and rankings has been continuous for over 60 years. Arguably it is the only Asian nation to do so.
As early as the 1930s, Jiro Sato was ranked number 3 in the world. His dedication to the sport and Japan was very intense. Going to Europe for the 1934 Inter-nation competition, Sato committed suicide jumping over board in the straits of Malacca. It made a wave at that time when the suicide note indicated his action was due to the poor health he is experiencing and his inability to serve the country well.
Women players
It is easy to remember Kimiko Date [Da-te] if one has followed Tennis of the recent past. She was in the top ten of the world for a long period. What is amazing is that, her present game was good enough to enter 2014 Australian-Open in January at the age of 44. Her current ranking is 92 as Kimiko Krumm Da-te in Singles and 54 in Doubles. This is impressive by any sporting standard. She started to play at six. Like a Samurai, she has sustained it for 38 years in competition. There are two other Japanese above Da-te in the top 100 of the ranking. They are Kurumi Nara ranked 47 and Ayumi Morita at 87. In addition there are over fifty Japanese women in the WTA ranking. Another well known Japanese female player was Ai Sugiyama.
Men Players
In the current men’s world ranking Kei Nishikori is in the top 20. From what is seen, he is bound to keep the Japanese flag up and may even enter the top ten this year. That would make him the first Japanese in a while to do so do. This week he is playing in Paris and it seems that he may do what is expected of him. Other players who made their mark in the international scene are Koji Watenabe and Osamu Ishiguro.
Strength of Japan
Japan has nearly 70 players in the top 1250 of the WTA world women’s ranking. The first ten are within the top 210 of the world. They also feature prominently in doubles. Records show that there have been 47 good women players in the last 50 years. On the men’s side, there are 37 Japanese in the top 1000 of the ATP world ranking. In the ITF junior world ranking they are equally impressive. There are 7 Japanese in the top 100 of the Boys ranking. Jumpei Yamasaki and Naoki Nakagawa are in the top 25. In the junior girls Mayo Hibi is ranked 25 and there are 8 Japanese girls in the top 200 of the ITF ranking. These ‘bases’ show the strength of Japan in international competition. Eiichi Kawatei san and Administration
The recreation participatory base of Tennis is equally impressive in Japan. This created the demand for sports goods which in turn refined Japanese Tennis racquet and shoe-making industries. Today, Japanese brands have international appeal. At one time Japan made a tennis racquet out of Bamboo. It was a pleasure to use it. The creation of Tennis courts, maintenance and running clubs, serve as a big recreation service industry. This plays a major part in making Tennis popular and available to the public. Anybody playing Tennis for fun is a tennis-fan. Japan’s large audience for Tennis comes from the popularity of the game. This popularity can be seen even at district level. The Tennis administration has kept abreast of the global growth of the game and has been the engine to popularise the game.
A name that comes to my mind very strongly is one of their administrators, late Eiichi Kawatei san. He was the first Asian photographer to capture images of Wimbledon in the 1930s. This is how he came into the Tennis scene. As a sports journalist he served in every known area and published books. Kawatei San played an important role in the Japanese Tennis Association and started the Asian Tennis Federation. He is considered as the father of Asian Tennis. I had many opportunities to discuss Tennis with him. He has the most complete picture of Tennis as a sport. I remember him telling that there will be a time when a player representing body would rule the Tennis world and the clubs and associations will have to abide by it. This is what we have now. He predicted this in 1992. His contribution to Japanese and Asian Tennis will be remembered in time to come. His approach has made Tennis popular and sustainable in Asia. Due to his stewardship, well over 43 Asian countries play Tennis. Eiichi Kawatei san passed away in 2013 at the age of 79.
Expensive game
To play Tennis in Japan is very expensive and equally exclusive to enter a club. It is not a land with much space for Tennis courts. Courts are made atop buildings and in some cases, the whole building block has only tennis courts. In many ways Japan also has shown methods to incorporate Tennis as a sport into fast growing economies and into Asian life.
–George Paldano, former international player; Accredited Coach of Germany, ITF and USPTR; National, Davis Cup and Federation Cup Coach–gptennis.ceylon@gmail.com