Erika Sema

Hello, I'm Erika Sema. I started tennis at seven — my sister Yurika played, so I did too.

I started aiming to turn pro around the fifth or sixth grade of primary school. I played in the national primary school championships and got a sports scholarship to junior high. I went to the same school as my sister, and in my third year I won the national junior high doubles and reached the singles semi-finals. I think that's when I set my sights on going pro.

For high school I chose a correspondence course so I could train morning and afternoon from my first year. I'd decided I'd turn pro if I won the All Japan Junior under-18 title — I did, YONEX kindly sponsored me, and I started playing as a pro at the end of age 17.

As a pro, I first played Grand Slam qualifying in 2011 and then played every Grand Slam for four years. At the All Japan Championships I won the mixed doubles in 2010 and was singles runner-up in 2011 and 2015. Since I stopped getting into Grand Slams, I've set clear goals every year and still aim for the Slams each season.

I'm with Growth Partners. I play 25–30 tournaments a year in Japan and overseas, and spend about half the year — around five months — training in Japan.

I'm not doing anything special because it's the World Championships. What I need to do is the same every day: always thinking about what I need to improve, and acting on it.

But this is my first time representing Japan since juniors — never as a pro. I won't know how the pressure feels until I'm there, so I want to do the work so I can handle it on the day.

My strengths are not making errors and my speed. I use my legs to play tenaciously, then move forward to the net, which I love. And I think I have plenty of grit — I'd like people to see that.

I know my playing career doesn't have much longer, but I still want to get as close to the Grand Slams as I can.

After I stop, I'd like to try work outside tennis too. Lately I've also become interested in developing the next generation — juniors aiming to turn pro, or kids working hard to get into good universities in the US or Japan. I just want to see kids who are giving it their all, and help develop national champions and players good enough to turn pro.

Fewer people are playing tennis these days, but if you get the chance to watch my match at the venue, please do. I'm preparing hard to play in a way that gives everyone energy and courage — maybe a reason to pick up tennis, or for those who play to want to work even harder.

If you can't make it, I'd be happy if you followed along through articles, results or YouTube.