Junior career As a junior, he compiled a 49–48 win–loss record in singles (and 47–47 in doubles), achieving a singles ranking of No. 20 in December 2002 and doubles ranking of No. 43 in September 2002.
2002–04 Soeda began playing professional tournaments regularly in 2002 before turning professional in 2003. He played primarily on Asian
ITF Futures event. Soeda rose steadily through his
ATP ranking over the next three years. He ended 2004 as ranked world No. 493.
2005–07 In 2005, Soeda won two Futures tournament in Japan and Sri Lanka, and he made his debut in an ATP World Tour event in
Ho Chi Minh City, losing to top seed
Mariano Puerta in the first round. The following year, Soeda had a very steady year at the Challenger level, reaching the quarterfinals or better seven times, including his first Challenger final in
Aptos. He also won the Japan F4 Futures. Soeda entered the world's top 200 in August and finished 2006 ranked No. 182. Go made his first
Grand Slam main-draw appearance at the
2007 Australian Open in January and lost to ninth seed
Mario Ančić in the first round. In August 2007, Soeda defeated
Eduardo Schwank to win his first Challenger title in
Manta, and he reached the Brisbane Challenger final in November.
2008–10 In 2008, Soeda won four Challenger titles at
Kyoto,
Busan, New Delhi, and
Toyota. He also won the most singles title in the
ATP Challenger Series (tied with three players). In September, he beat wildcard
Bai Yan in the
China Open first round to record his first ATP main-draw win. He lost to third seed
Fernando González in three sets. In October 2009, Soeda earned his sixth Challenger title in
Tiburon by beating
Ilija Bozoljac in the final. In 2010, Soeda won his second
Manta Challenger title in April. In the grass-court swing, he advanced to the
Nottingham Challenger final before losing to
Ričardas Berankis. He participated in the
Wimbledon Championships main draw as a lucky loser, but he fell in the first round to
Martin Fischer. Two weeks later, he reached the second round in
Newport, beating eighth seed
Taylor Dent in three sets.
2011: Reaching the top 100 Soeda reached the second round of the
SA Tennis Open, beating seventh seed
Rainer Schüttler. In March, he claimed his eighth Challenger title in
Pingguo by beating
Matthias Bachinger in the final. This result launched him into the world top 100 for the first time in his career, climbing to No. 91. Soeda took part in the
French Open, losing to 12th seed
Mikhail Youzhny in the first round. At the
Wimbledon Championships, he received entry from a lucky loser spot, but lost to eventual semifinalist
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. After winning the
Wuhai Challenger title, Soeda qualified for the
US Open, losing to
Kevin Anderson in the first round. In the Asian swing, Soeda reached his first quarterfinal of an ATP World Tour event at the
Thailand Open, beating
Karol Beck and
Tobias Kamke. His run was ended by
Donald Young in straight sets. The following week, he received a wildcard and faced world No. 2,
Rafael Nadal, in the
Japan Open first round, losing in straight sets.
2012: Reaching the top 50 2012 started for Soeda at the
Chennai Open, coming through qualifying. He beat
Frederico Gil and fifth seed
Ivan Dodig respectively to reach the quarterfinals, and he upset defending champion
Stan Wawrinka in straight sets. His first semifinal in an ATP event came to an end, losing to top seed
Janko Tipsarević in straight sets. Following the tournament, Soeda moved up in rankings to world No. 99 and back into the top 100 for the first time since April 2011. He won three Challenger titles from January to April, at
Honolulu,
Pingguo, and
Kaohsiung. In the
French Open, Soeda was eliminated in first round by
Dmitry Tursunov. In the grass-court season, Soeda reached the second round in the
Queen's Club championships. Then he was into the
Wimbledon Championships and advanced to the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time, beating
Igor Kunitsyn in straight sets. He was beaten by ninth seed
Juan Martín del Potro in four sets. In July, Soeda reached the semifinals of the
Atlanta Open, knocking out
Xavier Malisse and Igor Kunitsyn on the way. Then he faced his country's No. 1,
Kei Nishikori, and upset him soundly. This was the first pairing of two players from Japan in an ATP quarterfinal since the Open era began. He eventually lost to
Gilles Müller in straight sets. Soeda broke him into world's top 50 for the first time in his career, ranked No. 47 after the tournament. Soeda represented Japan at his maiden Olympics in
London 2012. He competed in singles and doubles, partnering Nishikori. In singles, he fell in the first round to
Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, and lost to defending champions Swiss pairing of
Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka in the first round of doubles. In the
US Open, Soeda lost in first round to 23rd seed
Mardy Fish with two tiebreakers. In the later season, he reached the second round of the
Thailand Open and the
Stockholm Open.
2013 Soeda began the 2013 season in
Chennai, reaching the quarterfinals for the second straight year. He defeated
Evgeny Donskoy and
Prakash Amritraj in the first two rounds, but he lost to eventual champion
Janko Tipsarević. He then participated in the
Australian Open and won over wildcard
Luke Saville in the first round, before losing to world No. 8, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Following this event, Soeda successfully defended his title in the
Maui Challenger, defeating
Mischa Zverev in the final, and he reached the second round in
Delray Beach by beating
Marinko Matosevic in three sets. Soeda bounced back from a first-round loss in the
French Open by qualifying for the
Wimbledon Championships without losing a set, and he beat
Andreas Haider-Maurer to reach the second round for two consecutive years in this event. He was then defeated by world No. 9
Richard Gasquet in four sets. He managed to qualify for the
US Open, but fell in the first round to
Marcos Baghdatis. In the Asian swing, Soeda reached the second round in the
Thailand Open, beating fellow qualifier
Santiago Giraldo.
2014 Soeda faced world No. 4 and the previous year's finalist,
Andy Murray, in the
Australian Open first round, losing in straight sets. In September, he advanced to the second round in the
Malaysian Open, before losing to Marinko Matosevic. Soeda recorded nine semifinal or better results at Challenger events in the year. These included winning the title in
Busan,
Nanchang, and
Toyota. He ended 2014 ranked within the top 100 for the second time in his career.
2015 Soeda started 2015 season by playing in Australia and won through the opening round of the
Australian Open, beating qualifier
Elias Ymer. He was beaten by 31st seed
Fernando Verdasco in the second round. In
Houston, Soeda defeated former world No. 1
Lleyton Hewitt in the first round. After winning another Challenger title in Seoul, he was into the main draw at the
French Open and
Wimbledon Championships, but he faced seeded players in the first round, losing to
Philipp Kohlschreiber and
John Isner. During the American hard-court season, Soeda made it into the quarterfinals in
Atlanta, knocking out
Alexandr Dolgopolov and fourth seed
Adrian Mannarino on the way, but was beaten by Gilles Müller.
2022: Retirement He retired on 31 October 2022 having played his last match at the Japan National Championships.
Davis Cup Soeda made his Davis Cup debut for
Japan in 2005, Asia/Oceania Zone Group I relegation play-offs against
Thailand. He played in the singles rubber and beat
Sanchai Ratiwatana in straight sets. To date, Soeda has compiled a 26–12 win–loss record overall (24–10 in singles and 2–2 in doubles). He received the Davis Cup Commitment Award in April 2014. In the first round of
2012 Davis Cup World Group against
Croatia, Soeda faced
Ivan Dodig in the first singles rubber and defeated him in a 4 hour, 5 minute match. This victory was Japan’s first win in a World Group match (In their previous two World Group matches, Japan lost 0–5). He was beaten by
Ivo Karlovic in reverse singles, and Japan lost 2–3. He scored another notable win in the
2013 Davis Cup World Group play-offs against
Colombia. He lost to
Santiago Giraldo in five sets, but defeated
Alejandro Falla in the deciding rubber to put Japan back in the World Group for 2014. ==Playing style==