Junior career As a junior, he compiled a 113–49 win-loss record in singles (and 63–45 in doubles), achieving a combined ranking of No. 12 in the world in January 2012.
Junior Grand Slam singles results • Australian Open: 3R (
2013) • French Open: 2R (
2012,
2013) • Wimbledon: 2R (
2012,
2013) • US Open: SF (
2012)
2014 Nishioka qualified for the
US Open in his first
Grand Slam qualifying appearance, but was forced to retire in the first round match against
Paolo Lorenzi because of illness. The next week, he claimed his first ATP Challenger Tour title in Shanghai by beating
Somdev Devvarman in the final. In September, Nishioka earned the men's singles gold medal in the
2014 Asian Games at Incheon, where he upset top seed
Lu Yen-hsun of Chinese Taipei in the final. He also became the first Japanese men's singles champion since
Toshiro Sakai, who won the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran.
2015 Nishioka qualified for the
Delray Beach Open in February. He beat
Igor Sijsling in the first round to record his first ATP main-draw win. He followed that up with a straight-sets win over
Marinko Matosevic to become the first teenage qualifier to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament since his countryman
Kei Nishikori. He lost to
Bernard Tomic in straight sets. During the spring clay court season, Nishioka made his debut at the
French Open, losing to fourth seed
Tomáš Berdych in the first round. In the
2015 US Open, Nishioka advanced to the second round of a Major for the first time in his career, beating fellow qualifier
Paul-Henri Mathieu in five sets. He was beaten by 30th seed
Thomaz Bellucci in the next round. In November, he ended the 2015 season with his second challenger title in
Toyota, beating
Alexander Kudryavtsev in the final.
2016: Miami Open third round, Top 100 By winning the Asia-Pacific wildcard play-offs in Shenzhen, Nishioka earned a wildcard into the
Australian Open. However, he fell in the first round to
Pablo Cuevas. In February, he reached the quarterfinal of the
Memphis Open as a qualifier, winning over
Jared Donaldson and
Illya Marchenko along the way. He lost to fourth seed
Sam Querrey in straight sets. He then qualified for the
Miami Open to make his
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 main-draw debut, getting to the third round after beating fellow qualifier Jared Donaldson and 21st seed
Feliciano López. He lost his chance to compete in the round of 16 when he was beaten by 14th seed
Dominic Thiem. In June, Nishioka won through qualifying at
Wimbledon for the first time, losing to
Sergiy Stakhovsky in the first round of the main draw. The following week, he earned his third Challenger title in
Winnetka without dropping a set, beating
Frances Tiafoe in the final. He also moved into the top 100 of the ATP rankings for the first time. At the
Atlanta Tennis Championships, he reached his first ATP tournament semi-final, after defeating
Daniel Evans, fourth seed
Alexandr Dolgopolov and
Horacio Zeballos. He then lost to eventual champion
Nick Kyrgios in three sets.
2017: Indian Wells fourth round, knee injury At the
Australian Open, Nishioka earned his second win at a Grand Slam tournament when he defeated
Alex Bolt. In the second round, he was ousted by
Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets. In February, he qualified for the
Mexican Open by defeating
Tobias Kamke and
Ryan Harrison. He proceeded to the quarterfinals after wins against
Jack Sock and
Jordan Thompson. His victory against Sock was his first win over a top-20 opponent on the ATP Tour. He was then defeated by
Rafael Nadal in straight sets. In March, Nishioka built on his momentum by entering the main draw at
Indian Wells as a
lucky loser and reaching the fourth round, where he lost to world No. 3
Stan Wawrinka in three sets. Nishioka's promising start to the season was abruptly cut short when he ruptured the
ACL of his left knee in a match against Jack Sock at the
Miami Open. He underwent surgical reconstruction of the ACL on April 4, 2017.
2018: Return from injury, first ATP title After rehabilitating his knee, Nishioka returned to the ATP tour in January 2018. He chose to use his protected ranking (no. 66) to receive direct entry into the
Australian Open draw. In the first round of the
Australian Open, his first major match since his injury, he defeated No. 28 seed
Philipp Kohlschreiber in five sets. At the
Shenzhen Open, he won the first ATP World Tour title in his career, defeating
Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the final.
2019: Masters quarterfinal, first top-10 win Nishioka defeated American
Tennys Sandgren in the first round of the
Australian Open. He fell to
Karen Khachanov in the second round. In the
French Open, Nishioka defeated American
Mackenzie McDonald in the first round. He fell to
Juan Martín del Potro in a nearly four-hour-long five-set match in the second round. At the
Western & Southern Open, Nishioka had his first win against a top-ten player, defeating
Kei Nishikori, whom Nishioka described as his hero, in the second round. Nishioka advanced to the quarter-finals of the tournament but had to withdraw due to illness.
2020–2021: Australian Open third round, top 50 At the
Australian Open, Nishioka reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career, defeating 30th seed
Dan Evans Nishioka reached his second ATP final in
Delray Beach, where he lost to
Reilly Opelka in three sets. As a result, he reached the top 50 at world No. 48 on 24 February 2020. At the 2020
US Open, Nishioka lost in the first round to former champion
Andy Murray in a come-from-behind victory for the Scotsman in five sets. Nishioka reached the quarterfinals in
Lyon, where he to
Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets.
2022: Korea title, ATP 500 final, Asian No. 1 Nishioka started his 2022 season at the
Adelaide International 1. He lost in the first round to eighth seed
Kwon Soon-woo. Getting past qualifying at the
Adelaide International 2, he was defeated in the first round by lucky loser
Thiago Monteiro. At the
Australian Open, he lost in the first round to qualifier
Radu Albot in four sets. After the Australian Open, Nishioka played at the
Columbus Challenger. Seeded third, he won his 11th ATP challenger title by beating
Dominic Stricker in the final. Seeded third at the
Cleveland Open, he reached the final; however, he was defeated by Dominic Stricker. At the first edition of the
Dallas Open, he was eliminated in the second round by fifth seed
Adrian Mannarino. In
Delray Beach, he was beaten in the first round by
Oscar Otte. Making it past qualifying at the
Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, he upset seventh seed, world No. 16, and 2020 finalist,
Taylor Fritz, in the second round. He lost in the quarterfinals to top seed and world No. 2
Daniil Medvedev. At the
Indian Wells Masters, he fell in the final round of qualifying to
Mikhail Kukushkin. Getting past qualifying at the
Miami Open, he defeated 24th seed and world No. 27,
Dan Evans, in the second round to reach the third round as a qualifier for only the second time in his career at this Masters event. He lost in the third round to
Lloyd Harris. Nishioka started his clay court season at the
BMW Open in Munich. Getting past qualifying, he lost in the first round to
Emil Ruusuvuori. In
Madrid, he was defeated in the first round of qualifying by
Lorenzo Musetti. At the
French Open, he lost in the first round to world No. 1
Novak Djokovic. At
Wimbledon, Nishioka lost in the first round to Emil Ruusuvuori in four sets. Ranked No. 96 at the
Citi Open, he reached the quarterfinals, defeating
Jenson Brooksby as well as 11th seed
Alex de Minaur and 7th seed
Karen Khachanov in straight sets. He defeated 16th seed
Dan Evans in three sets to reach the semifinals of an ATP 500 event for the first time in his career. He went one step further to reach the biggest final of his career, defeating world No. 8 and top seed
Andrey Rublev in straight sets, his third top-10 win in his career. He lost in the final to
Nick Kyrgios. As a result, he moved up more than 40 positions back into the top 60 and became the No. 1 Japanese player. At the
2022 Korea Open, he defeated fifth seed Dan Evans in the first round for the sixth time overall and the third time that season. Next he defeated compatriot
Taro Daniel and top seed and world No. 2
Casper Ruud to reach the semifinals for only his second top-5 win of his career. He defeated lucky loser
Aleksandar Kovacevic to reach the final. He then won his second title, defeating fourth seed
Denis Shapovalov in the final in straight sets. As a result, he reached a new career-high of No. 41 on 3 October 2022. He became the first player from his nation to win a tour-level title since Kei Nishikori won Brisbane in 2019. At his home tournament, the
Japan Open, he lost in the first round to
Miomir Kecmanović. At the
Paris Masters he lost to World No. 1
Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets. Despite the loss he reached a new career-high ranking of No. 36 on 7 November 2022, becoming the No. 1 Asian player, one position ahead of
Alexander Bublik.
2023: Australian & French Open 4th rounds, top 25 Nishioka started his 2023 season at the
Adelaide International 1. He upset fifth seed and world No. 11,
Holger Rune, in the first round in three sets. He reached the semifinals, where he retired during the second set against
Sebastian Korda due to a leg injury. Seeded 31st at the
Australian Open, he reached the fourth round for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament, recording his 100th career match win over
Mackenzie McDonald, before losing to 18th seed and world No. 20
Karen Khachanov. As a result, he reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 32 on 20 February 2023. After the Australian Open, Nishioka represented Japan in the
Davis Cup tie against Poland. He played one match and beat
Daniel Michalski. In the end, Japan won the tie over Poland 4–0. Seeded fifth at the
Delray Beach Open, he defeated
Oscar Otte before losing in the second round to Mackenzie McDonald. At the
Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, he lost in the first round to sixth seed and world No. 15
Frances Tiafoe. Seeded 29th at the
BNP Paribas Open, he fell in his second-round match to qualifier
Cristian Garín. Seeded 28th at the
Miami Open, he lost in the second round to
Alex Molčan. Nishioka started his clay court season at the
Barcelona Open. Seeded 16th, he reached the third round defeating
David Goffin before losing to fourth seed and world No. 8,
Jannik Sinner, in three sets. Seeded 28th in
Madrid, he defeated
Alex Molčan before getting eliminated from the tournament in the third round by fifth seed and world No. 6
Andrey Rublev. As the top seed at the Challenger 175, the
Sardegna Open, he lost in the second round to
Daniel Elahi Galán. In
Rome he lost to
Lorenzo Sonego, also in the second round. In June at the
French Open, he defeated qualifier
Thiago Seyboth Wild, the conqueror of world No. 2
Daniil Medvedev, in five sets to advance to his second consecutive Grand Slam fourth round. He became just the second Japanese player after
Kei Nishikori to reach the last 16 of the tournament since the start of the
Open Era in 1968. He lost to
Tomás Martín Etcheverry in straight sets. As a result, he reached the top 30 in the rankings on 12 June 2023 and the top 25 a week later. Due to a groin injury sustained during his match against Etcheverry, Nishioka did not compete again until
Wimbledon, where he lost in the first round to Daniel Galán. He reached his fifth final and first of the season at the
Zhuhai Championships but lost to top seed
Karen Khachanov.
2024: Third ATP title, back to top 50 In July, Nishioka won his third title at the
Atlanta Open, defeating
Jordan Thompson and becoming the final champion at the tournament. At the
Japan Open where he entered the main draw as a wildcard, he upset
Félix Auger-Aliassime while saving two match points, reaching the second round for only the second time at his home tournament. Nishioka lost his next match to sixth seed
Holger Rune. == Performance timelines ==