Riko Sawayanagi

Hello everyone, I'm Riko Sawayanagi. I started tennis at seven, in my second year of primary school. My older sister's friend had a younger brother who played, and our mothers were close, so I was invited along. I was doing lots of things back then, like a sports gymnastics class, but nothing really stuck — until I found tennis.

I started in Hakodate, Hokkaido, got hooked and wanted to get stronger, so from my first year of junior high I left home and moved to Chiba. I've played in the Kanto area ever since.

My main results: runner-up at the All Japan Championships twice in singles, twice in doubles and once in mixed. At the Grand Slams I played qualifying, but I've played all four.

Now my main work is junior development — I coach at the Team REC junior academy. I also give private lessons, do events, and work with Wilson and others.

This World Championships is a team event. I can't win on my own, so together with the 30s, the 35s and the other categories, I want to fight match by match — and of course aim for the title.

It's been more than three years since I retired, so it's my first competition in a while. Honestly, I don't know quite how it will go. But since early this year, to get ready to play, I've slowly started practising and training again, and I feel it's coming along well.

I'm good at the net, so I want to take the net aggressively. I can't move like I did in my early twenties, but with slice and different changes of pace, I have lots of ways to get forward. I hope I can show varied, not one-dimensional, tennis — please enjoy watching.

Honestly, I haven't found one particular thing yet. But my love of tennis hasn't changed, then or now, and I'd like to help liven up the tennis world even a little.

I'm involved in junior development now, so if there's something I can do to strengthen juniors, I want to help. Beyond that, at events for the public or anywhere else, I'd like to contribute however I can.

As many of you know, tennis is said to extend your life. Enjoying the competition is part of it, of course, but through tennis you make friends, your circle of communication grows, and there's so much to enjoy beyond the game itself.

Together with all of you, I hope we keep enjoying tennis, stay healthy, and keep enjoying it together.