is a Japanese
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.
Aoyama became a professional tennis player after graduating from
Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902.
The university has numerou ...
. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 182, on 9 February 2015, and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 4, on 28 February 2022. She has predominantly played doubles and has won 17 doubles titles on the
WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour.
WTA Tour tourna ...
, having had her most successful
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
appearances 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
* ...
, reaching the semifinals at the
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
and
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
tournaments. She has also won four singles and 30 doubles titles on the
ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, previously known as the ITF Women's Circuit, is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players.
History
It serves as a developmental ...
.
Personal life and background
Aoyama started playing tennis at age 9. Her favorite surface is
grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
. She studied at Waseda University in Japan.
Professional career
2007–12: First steps, first WTA title in doubles
Aoyama made her
ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, previously known as the ITF Women's Circuit, is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players.
History
It serves as a developmental ...
debut in the doubles event at
Gifu
is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...
in 2007. In March 2009, she won her first ITF title at the $10K Kōfu doubles event. In June 2010, she won her first singles ITF title at the $10K Tokyo event. In October 2010 at the
Japan Open, she made her debut at a
WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour.
WTA Tour tourna ...
main-draw event. She failed to qualify in singles and had more success in doubles, reaching her first WTA final. In late November 2010, she won the $75K
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
doubles event. In June 2011, she made her WTA singles debut at the
Birmingham Classic as a qualifier. At the 2011
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
* ...
she made her
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
debut in doubles. At the
2012 Washington Open in September, she won her first WTA title in doubles. In September 2012 she won the $100K
Ningbo Challenger. During the 2012 season, she also won two $50K events, the
Lexington Challenger
The Lexington Challenger (previously known as the Kentucky Bank Tennis Championships and the Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships) is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hardcourts. It is currently part of the ATP Challenger Tour ...
and the
Bronx Open.
2013–16: More success in doubles, Wimbledon semifinalist
As time passed, Aoyama became mainly a doubles player, playing in doubles events preferentially to singles. She made a strong start to the 2013 season reaching the semifinal in the first week of January at the
Shenzhen Open. Soon after, she won her first Grand Slam match at the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
, but then lost in the second round playing with
Irina Falconi
Irina Falconi ( es, Falconí; born May 4, 1990) is an Ecuadorian-born American former tennis player. She moved to Manhattan, New York, as a toddler.
Her highest WTA singles ranking is world No. 63, which she reached in May 2016. Her career-high ...
. In March she won the
Malaysian Open with
Chang Kai-chen
Chang Kai-chen (; ; born January 13, 1991) is a Taiwanese former professional tennis player.
Career
Her father is Chang Chin-lai and mother is Jun Yu-mei; she has two older brothers, Yao-lun and Yao-chung (both play tennis). Born and raised ...
. Later she also had strong start to the grass-season, reaching the semifinal at the
Rosmalen Championships. She achieved more success at the
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
* ...
, where she and
Chanelle Scheepers
Chanelle Scheepers ( ; born 13 March 1984) is a retired South African tennis player.
She won one singles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour, as well as 12 singles and 20 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit in her career. On 10 October ...
reached the semifinal. This was her first significant
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
result.
In the semifinal-match they lost to
Hsieh Su-wei
Hsieh Su-wei ( ;''Xiè 謝淑薇Shūwēi'' in Chinese mainland. Taiwanese Mandarin: ; in Standard Mandarin of Chinese mainland. born 4 January 1986) is an inactive Taiwanese professional tennis player. She has won three singles titles and 30 ...
and
Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai (; born 8 January 1986) is a Chinese retired professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked world No. 1 doubles player by the WTA, becoming the first Chinese tennis player to achieve that ranking (in either single ...
. In September she won the
Citi Open
The Washington Open (known as the Citi Open for sponsorship reasons) is an annual hardcourt tennis tournament played at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. The Washington Open is part of the ATP Tour 50 ...
for the second year in a row. At the end of the year she reached the semifinal of the
Korea Open and won the $75K
Toyota Challenge
The Toyota Challenge is a rugby union competition hosted in South Africa by the Cheetahs, a team sponsored by Toyota SA. The first tournament took place at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein between 13 November and 26 November 2021.
In 2021, ...
.
During the next three seasons she did not have as good performances as in the 2013 season. In 2014, in singles, her only significant result came at the end of the year, when she reached the final of the $75K
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
but lost to
An-Sophie Mestach
An-Sophie Mestach (born 7 March 1994) is a Belgian retired tennis player.
In her career, Mestach won two doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as six singles titles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 14 September 2015, she reac ...
. In doubles she won the
Citi Open
The Washington Open (known as the Citi Open for sponsorship reasons) is an annual hardcourt tennis tournament played at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. The Washington Open is part of the ATP Tour 50 ...
for the third year in a row, and later in October she won the
Japan Women's Open
The Japan Women's Open Tennis is a professional women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. The event is affiliated with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and is an International-level tournament on the WTA Tour. As successor to ...
. During the year, she also had success on the ITF Women's Circuit. In May she won the $50K
Fukuoka
is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
with
Eri Hozumi
is a Japanese tennis player.
On 10 November 2014, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 144. On 27 May 2019, she peaked at No. 28 in the WTA doubles rankings.
Partnering with Miyu Kato, she reached semifinals of the 2017 Aust ...
, and later finished as runner-up at both the $50K
Lexington and the $75K
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
. In the first week of the 2015 season she reached the final at the
Auckland Open playing with
Renata Voráčová
Renata Voráčová (; born 6 October 1983) is a Czech professional tennis player.
Voráčová has won 11 doubles titles on the WTA Tour and three on WTA 125 tournaments, as well as 15 singles and 56 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 11 Oc ...
, they lost to
Sara Errani
Sara Errani (; born 29 April 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. She is a former top five player in singles and former world No. 1 in doubles. With 9 singles titles and 27 doubles titles (including 5 Grand Slam doubles championship ...
and
Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci (; born 18 February 1983) is an Italian professional padel and former tennis player. In doubles tennis, she won five major tournaments and reached the world No. 1 position. She also reached a career-high ranking of world No. 7 in ...
. A month later, she reached the final at the
Thailand Open with
Tamarine Tanasugarn
Tamarine Tanasugarn ( th, แทมมารีน ธนสุกาญจน์, , ; born 24 May 1977) is a Thai former tennis player. Born in Los Angeles, she turned professional in 1994, and has been in the top 20 in both singles and doubl ...
. She then did not made any significant results until September. She then reached the semifinal of the
Korea Open, and later she won two $100K events, in
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
and
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. During 2016, she won one WTA doubles title at the
Japan Women's Open
The Japan Women's Open Tennis is a professional women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. The event is affiliated with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and is an International-level tournament on the WTA Tour. As successor to ...
, and finished runner-up at the
Nuremberg Cup,
Washington Open and
Jiangxi Open. She also won three $50K events, in
Quanzhou
Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...
,
Shenzen and
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
.
2021: WTA 1000 & four more titles, Olympic & top 5 debut, WTA Finals semifinalist
2022: World No. 4, Australian Open semifinal
Performance timelines
''Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.''
Doubles
''Current through the
2022 Toray Pan Pacific Open.''
Significant finals
WTA Elite Trophy
Doubles: 1 (runner–up)
WTA 1000 tournaments
Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
WTA career finals
Doubles: 28 (17 titles, 11 runner-ups)
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 9 (4 titles, 5 runner–ups)
Doubles: 39 (30 titles, 9 runner-ups)
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
Japan Tennis Association profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aoyama, Shuko
1987 births
Living people
Japanese female tennis players
Sportspeople from Tokyo
Waseda University alumni
Tennis players at the 2014 Asian Games
Asian Games medalists in tennis
Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan
Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games
Universiade medalists in tennis
Universiade gold medalists for Japan
Universiade silver medalists for Japan
Universiade bronze medalists for Japan
Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade
Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade
Olympic tennis players of Japan
Tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics
20th-century Japanese women
21st-century Japanese women