2021: WTA Tour debut and first quarterfinal Hontama made her
WTA Tour debut at the WTA 500
2021 Chicago Fall Tennis Classic, after qualifying for the main draw. She reached the quarterfinals, defeating former world No. 4,
Caroline Garcia in the first round, her first top 100 win, 11th seed
Anett Kontaveit by walkover and
Shelby Rogers, before falling to eventual champion
Garbiñe Muguruza.
2022-2023: Major debut and first win She made her Grand Slam debut at the
Wimbledon Championships after qualifying, where she recorded the first major match win in her career, over
Clara Tauson. At her home tournament, the WTA 500
Pan Pacific Open, she reached the second round in 2023, after qualifying and defeating compatriot
Nao Hibino before she lost to the top seed
Iga Świątek.
2024: WTA 1000 debut She received a wildcard for the
2024 Australian Open making her main-draw debut at this major but lost to ninth seed
Barbora Krejčíková. She made her WTA 1000 debut in
Indian Wells, after qualifying into the main draw, and recorded her first win at this level defeating
Zhang Shuai, but lost to 31st seed
Marta Kostyuk, in the second round. Ranked No. 116, she also made her debut at the WTA 1000
China Open, as a lucky loser, after the late withdrawal of
Amanda Anisimova, losing in the first round to
Wang Xinyu. ==Sponsorship==