Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori made history at the US Open last year, the first time ever that two Japanese players reached the semifinals at a Grand Slam. Osaka won hers, and went on to capture her first major. Nishikori fell to eventual men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic, but don’t feel bad for the guy. Nishikori is doing just fine, thank you.
The 29-year-old from Shimane, Japan, is ranked No. 7 in the world heading into the 2019 US Open, but it’s his ranking in Forbes’ annual list of the highest-paid athletes that really stands out. Nishikori is 35th on Forbes’ list for 2019 – one of just five tennis players who made the cut.
For the record, the only tennis players to earn more than Nishikori in 2018 were Roger Federer (fifth on Forbes’ list) and Novak Djokovic (17th). He ranked ahead of Rafael Nadal (37th), and Serena Williams (63rd).
What’s more impressive, Nishikori was ninth overall when it came to endorsement earnings. He made $33 million in endorsements – just ahead of international stars such as Djokovic, golf’s Rory McIlroy and soccer’s Neymar.
Osaka, at 21, may someday put up similar numbers. For now, however, Nishikori is the biggest name in Japanese tennis.
How big? Japan Airlines has a jet named after him. The Boeing JET-KEI has been flying international routes since 2016. Japan Airlines is one of Nishikori’s many big sponsors, along with Nike, Uniqlo, Nissin Foods, Jaguar, Proctor and Gamble, and Tag Heuer.
When Nishikori became the first Asian male to reach a Grand Slam singles final five years ago – losing to Marin Cilic at the 2014 US Open -- hundreds of fans packed into a convention hall to cheer him on at a standing-room-only public viewing event in his hometown. Many more watched throughout Japan, despite the time difference.
Yoshihito Nishioka was 18 in 2014 when he played in his first career Grand Slam after qualifying for the US Open. Two weeks ago in Cincinnati, Nishioka scored one of the biggest victories of his career when he upset Nishikori in the second round at the Western & Southern Open.
“I was so excited to play with him, because he's the hero of the Japanese tennis, most of the Asian tennis,” Nishioka said after the match. “So I was very excited to play. I couldn't sleep yesterday, you know (smiling). I know him very well. I was watching him when I was junior. I was learning many things from him.”
Nishioka has trained with Nishikori in the past, but that was at the IMG Academy in Florida rather than in Japan. That’s because Nishikori lives in Bradenton, Fla., year round. Nishikori is a rock star in Japan. If he lived there for any length of time, the crowds and the demands would be too much.
“I have to say, if I live in Japan, I think I was going to have different life,” Nishikori said Friday during US Open Media Day. “There is too much attention. I feel like I'm a star there. But I think it's good thing that I live in States.”
Nishikori told the Telegraph of London in 2016 that it’s often difficult for him to get around in Tokyo. “I have to wear sunglasses, a hat, a mask, everything,” he said.
If the tennis fans in Japan have given Nishikori the Beatlemania treatment before, just wait until next summer. Regardless of how Nishikori does during the US Open fortnight and the first three majors of next year, he will return to Japan as a face of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
When Nishikori won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, he was the first Japanese tennis player to medal at the Olympics in 96 years. The home fans in 2020 will have Osaka, Nishioka and others to support next summer in addition to Nishikori, but it’s the latter who remains Japan’s most marketable sports star.
Nishikori was asked about the Olympics during Friday’s media session – particularly about the idea of playing mixed doubles with Osaka, an idea that would not only create a formidable team but also garner tons of attention throughout the country.
While the magnitude of such a pairing wasn’t lost on Nishikori, he wasn’t sure it would be a good idea from a practical standpoint.
"I will play men's doubles, for sure,” he said. “With that condition -- very hot, very humid -- playing singles and two doubles, I don't know if I can. I haven't (had to) think too much yet honestly. I don't know. I will talk to Naomi later."
The pairing of Nishikori and Osaka in Japan might be comparable to John Lennon and Paul McCartney in England during the ‘60s.
It’s a lifestyle Osaka is slowly adapting to. For Nishikori, as evidenced by his growing sponsorship portfolio, the spotlight shines bright on him in the Far East.
