Brandon Nakashima
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Brandon Nakashima (born August 3, 2001) is an American professional
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player. He has been
ranked A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...
as high as world No. 43 in singles by the
Association of Tennis Professionals The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, an ...
(ATP), which he achieved on 17 October 2022. On the same day, he also reached a career-high doubles ranking of No. 316. After graduating from High Bluff Academy in Rancho Santa Fe, he enrolled at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
to play collegiate tennis, but chose to forgo his remaining years of eligibility after his first year. He has won one ATP singles title, as well as the 2022 Next Generation ATP Finals.


Junior career

As a junior, Nakashima was ranked as high as No. 3 in the world. In 2018, he won two titles on the
International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there a ...
(ITF) junior circuit and went on to win that year's
ITF Junior Masters The ITF Junior Masters is a year-end singles tournament for the top-ranked 18-and-under tennis players on the ITF Junior Circuit (ITF Junior World Ranking). It is the second most prestigious annual junior event in terms of rankings points awarded, ...
, the year-end tournament for the top-ranked junior singles players


Collegiate career

Nakashima graduated from high school, High Bluff Academy in San Diego, a semester early, before enrolling at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
in January 2019 at the age of 17. During his time at UVA, he finished the season with a 17–5 record in singles and 20–3 record in doubles. At the end of the season he received the ACC-Freshman of the Year and All-ACC First Team awards and was also a part of the All-ACC Academic Team. After one semester he decided to forgo his remaining years of eligibility and turn professional.


Professional career


2020: First ATP main draw, Grand Slam debut

In February 2020, Nakashima received a wildcard into the
Delray Beach Open The Delray Beach Open is an ATP World Tour 250 series men's professional tennis tournament held each year in Delray Beach, Florida, United States, and played on hard courts. It was previously known as America's Red Clay Championships, Citrix Ten ...
(his first ATP main draw event), where he reached the quarterfinals, defeating
Jiří Veselý Jiří Veselý (; born 10 July 1993) is a Czech professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 35 on 27 April 2015. He is currently the No. 2 Czech tennis player in singles, as he lost his previous ...
and
Cameron Norrie Cameron Norrie (; born 23 August 1995) is a South African-born British professional tennis player, having previously represented New Zealand. He has reached career-high rankings of world No. 8 in singles (on 12 September 2022) and No. 117 in dou ...
before falling to
Yoshihito Nishioka is a Japanese tennis player. He has won two ATP Tour singles titles and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 36 on 7 November 2022. He is currently the No. 1 Japanese player. Career Junior career As a junior, he compiled a ...
. Later in the year at the US Open (his Grand Slam main draw debut as a wildcard), Nakashima defeated
Paolo Lorenzi Paolo Lorenzi (; born 15 December 1981) is an Italian former professional tennis player. Lorenzi was coached by Claudio Galoppini. Tennis career Lorenzi reached his first ATP World Tour final at the age of 32, in São Paulo. Here, at the 2014 B ...
before being beaten by 5th seed and eventual runner-up,
Alexander Zverev Alexander "Sascha" Zverev (; born 20 April 1997) is a German professional tennis player. He has been ranked by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) as high as world No. 2, and was continuously ranked in the top 10 from July 2017 to N ...
.


2021: First two tour finals, Next Gen ATP Finals, Top 70 debut

Nakashima qualified into a Grand Slam main draw for the first time at
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...
. He lost in the first round to compatriot and 31st seed,
Taylor Fritz Taylor Harry Fritz (born October 28, 1997) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on October 10, 2022, and a doubles ranking of w ...
. Nakashima reached his first final in
Los Cabos LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...
, where after beating J. J. Wolf, 4th seed
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
, 5th seed Jordan Thompson (after saving 3 match points), and 2nd seed
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers e ...
, he lost to 1st seed
Cameron Norrie Cameron Norrie (; born 23 August 1995) is a South African-born British professional tennis player, having previously represented New Zealand. He has reached career-high rankings of world No. 8 in singles (on 12 September 2022) and No. 117 in dou ...
in the final. From this run, the 19-year-old Nakashima became the youngest American to reach an ATP final since a then 18-year-old
Taylor Fritz Taylor Harry Fritz (born October 28, 1997) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on October 10, 2022, and a doubles ranking of w ...
got to the final of the
Memphis Open The FedEx St. Jude Classic was a professional golf tournament held in Memphis, Tennessee as a regular event on the PGA Tour. The tournament was held annually from 1958 through 2018, and was played in June at TPC Southwind (since 1989). In 2019 ...
in
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
. A week later in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Nakashima reached his second final in as many weeks but lost to 6th seed
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers e ...
in the championship match. As a result of this good run, Nakashima cracked the top 100 for the first time, coming in at world No. 89 on August 2, 2021, a day before his 20th birthday. As a qualifier at the 2021 European Open, he reached the quarterfinals where he lost to
Diego Schwartzman Diego Sebastián Schwartzman (, ; born 16 August 1992) is an Argentine professional tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles and reached his career-high singles ranking of world 8 in October 2020. As a clay court specialist, his be ...
. As a result, he reached a new career-high ranking of No. 70 on October 25, 2021. Nakashima qualified for the 2021 Next Generation ATP Finals as the fourth seed in recognition of his breakout success in the year among players aged 21 and under. In his group, he notched wins against
Juan Manuel Cerúndolo Juan Manuel Cerúndolo (born 15 November 2001) is an Argentine professional tennis player. He has won one ATP singles title. Cerúndolo has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 79, achieved on 31 January 2022. He also has a career hi ...
and
Holger Rune Holger Vitus Nødskov Rune (; born 29 April 2003) is a Danish professional tennis player. He was ATP rankings, ranked as high as No. 10 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved on 7 November 2022 making ...
, taking him to the semifinals, before he lost to eventual finalist
Sebastian Korda Sebastian Korda (born July 5, 2000) is an American professional tennis player. Korda's career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 26 was achieved on 30 January 2023. He has won one ATP singles tournament, the 2021 Emilia-Romagna Open. He al ...
in five sets. He ended the year at a career-high of No. 62 and was nominated
ATP Newcomer of the Year This is a list of all the awards given by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) to players and others of particular distinction during a given season. Player & Team of the Year The ATP Player and Team of the Year awards are presently give ...
.


2022: Major fourth round, Top 50, Maiden title, Next Gen Champion

At the
2022 French Open The 2022 French Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was held at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 22 May to 5 June 2022, comprising singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Junior and wheelchair ...
, Nakashima reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, where he lost to 3rd seed
Alexander Zverev Alexander "Sascha" Zverev (; born 20 April 1997) is a German professional tennis player. He has been ranked by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) as high as world No. 2, and was continuously ranked in the top 10 from July 2017 to N ...
. At the
2022 Wimbledon Championships The 2022 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tier tennis tournament that took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. Novak Djokovic successfully defended his gentleme ...
, he reached the fourth round of a Major for the first time in his career defeating
Daniel Elahi Galán Daniel Elahi Galán Riveros (born 18 June 1996 in Bucaramanga) is a Colombian tennis player. He has reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 67 on 28 November 2022. He is currently the No. 1 Colombian tennis player. He has a career-high ...
. He lost a tight five-set contest to eventual runner-up
Nick Kyrgios Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. In singles, Kyrgios' career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 was achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won seven ATP Tour singles titles, includin ...
. He reached the top 50 on 11 July 2022 at world No. 49. Seeded fifth at his home tournament, the
2022 San Diego Open The 2022 San Diego Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 2nd edition of the event for the men and the 1st edition of the Southern California Open for the women since 2015. The event is ...
, he reached his third ATP final after defeating
Christopher O'Connell Christopher O'Connell (born 3 June 1994) is an Australian professional tennis player. He grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. O'Connell reached a career high ATP singles ranking of World No. 78 on 28 November 2022 and a doubles ranking ...
. In the final, he defeated
Marcos Giron Marcos Andres Giron (born July 24, 1993; ) is an American professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of No. 49 on 16 May 2022 and a doubles ranking of No. 194 on August 1, 2022. He won the boys' singles in the Ojai Ten ...
to win his first career title. He qualified for the 2022 Next Generation ATP Finals and won the title undefeated after beating Jack Draper in the semifinal and
Jiří Lehečka Jiří Lehečka (born 8 November 2001) is a Czech tennis player. Lehečka has a career high ATP singles ranking of World No. 59 achieved on 8 August 2022. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of World No. 214 achieved on 7 March 2022. L ...
in the final.


World TeamTennis

Nakashima made his
World TeamTennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...
debut in 2020 with the
Chicago Smash The Chicago Smash is a World TeamTennis (WTT) franchise founded in 2020, owned by the league. The team was the third expansion teams in two years to enter the league in 2020 following the addition of the Orlando Storm and Vegas Rollers during the ...
for their inaugural season. Nakashima excelled in singles play for the Smash and also paired up with
Rajeev Ram Rajeev Ram ( ; born March 18, 1984) is an American professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. Ram is a five-time major champion, having won the 2020 Australian Open, the 2021 US Open, and the 2022 US Open in men's d ...
throughout the season in men's doubles to help Chicago earn a No. 2 seed in WTT Playoffs. The Smash defeated the Orlando Storm to earn a spot in the final, but ultimately fell to the New York Empire in a Supertiebreaker.


Personal life

Nakashima's father is a
Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...
born in California, while his mother was born in Vietnam and moved to California at age 5.


Performance timeline


Singles

''Current through the
2023 Adelaide International 2 The 2023 Adelaide International 2 was a tennis tournament on the 2023 ATP Tour and 2023 WTA Tour. It was a combined ATP Tour 250 and WTA 500 tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Due to the tournamen ...
.''


ATP career finals


Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)


ATP Next Generation finals


Singles: 1 (1 title)


ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals


Singles: 5 (5–0)


Doubles: 1 (0–1)


Record against other players


Record against top 10 players

Nakashima's record against players who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who are active in boldface. Only ATP Tour main draw matches are considered:


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakashima, Brandon 2001 births Living people American male tennis players American sportspeople of Japanese descent American sportspeople of Vietnamese descent Virginia Cavaliers men's tennis players Tennis players from San Diego Japanese-American tennis players