Osaka And Rio Bronze Medalist Nishikori Named In Japan's 2024 Olympics Team

The two most successful Japanese tennis players of their generation will be flying their country's flag high at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Japan's team for the Olympic Games, scheduled to commence next month, was formally publicized on Thursday. Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori were selected as the two tennis representatives.

The Olympics singles tournament will kick off on July 27th and run until August 4th. This event will be played on Roland's clay courts, with 64 men and women occupying the two singles draws.

Nishikori, who hopes to recover from injury in time to play, will use a protected ranking. The same applies to Naomi Osaka, who was absent for the whole of 2023 after she took maternity leave.

The 34-year-old Nishikori is a former World No. 4 but currently sits outside the Top 200. He has spent the last two years nursing a career-threatening hip injury, missing the entire 2022 season to undergo surgery.

Last year, he returned to the tour, playing in only a handful of tournaments before a knee injury forced him out of action after he competed at the Atlanta Open.

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Nishikori's 2024 campaign has also been blighted by injuries, which delayed his return until late March. He played at the Miami Open, losing in the first round to Sebastian Ofner. His second tournament was at Roland Garros last month, where he retired in the second round because of an injury.

Osaka, meanwhile, has fared better since her return, inching closer to the Top 100. The 26-year-old four-time Grand Slam champion impressed in her most recent tournament at Roland Garros, pushing World No.1 Iga Swiatek to three sets and even holding a match point.

The former World No. 1 is currently competing at the Libema Open, where she picked up a pair of wins to reach her second quarterfinal of the season. She will participate in her second Olympics after losing to Marketa Vondrousova at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Nishikori, for his part, won a bronze medal in his first Olympics in Rio eight years ago, beating Rafael Nadal in a third-place play-off match. In Tokyo, he was a quarterfinalist, losing to 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

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