is a Japanese former 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. Koura was born in

Nishinomiya 270px, Nishinomiya City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Nishinomiya city center 270px, Hirota Shrine is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 484,368 in 218948 households and a population density of 48 ...

and competed on the international circuit in the 1960s and 1970s. While studying commerce in the 1960s he represented Japan at the

University Games A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ro ...

, where he won two silver medals and a bronze medal in doubles events. Koura played in the main draw of the 1967 French Championships and was runner up at the 1971

Tokyo Indoor The Tokyo Indoor was a men's tennis tournament played in Tokyo, Japan on indoor carpet courts from 1966 to 1995. History The event was established in 1966 but had periods when it was not staged. It was played as part of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour ...

. In the early 1970s he was a member Japan's

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

team, featuring in three ties as a doubles player. This included a win over Australia in Tokyo in 1971, which was the first time in 50 years the Japanese had defeated the Australians. Koura opened up a tennis college in Osaka in the mid 1970s, which has produced players such as

Kimiko Date is a Japanese former professional tennis player. She reached the semifinals of the 1994 Australian Open, the 1995 French Open and the 1996 Wimbledon Championships, and won the Japan Open a record four times. She reached a career-high ranking ...

and

Yuko Hosoki Yuko Hosoki (born 12 November 1968) is a Japanese former professional tennis player. Hosoki had a best singles ranking of 167 in the world and won ten ITF doubles titles. Her best WTA Tour performance came at the 1996 China Open, where she re ...

. He is a former captain of the Japanese Fed Cup team.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Koura, Takeshi 1942 births Living people Japanese male tennis players Sportspeople from Nishinomiya Japanese tennis coaches Summer World University Games medalists in tennis FISU World University Games silver medalists for Japan FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Japan Medalists at the 1963 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1967 Summer Universiade 20th-century Japanese sportspeople

See also

References

External links