Shintaro Mochizuki (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: 望月慎太郎, ''Mochizuki Shintarō'', born 2 June 2003) is a Japanese professional

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player. He has an ATP career-high singles ranking of world No. 129 achieved on 6 November 2023 and a doubles ranking of No. 371 achieved on 18 October 2021. He is currently the No. 4 Japanese player. Mochizuki became the first Japanese male player in history to win a Grand Slam boys’ singles title at the

2019 Wimbledon Championships The 2019 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis tournament that took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The main tournament began on Monday 1 July 2019 and fi ...

. As a teen, Mochizuki achieved a career-high ITF junior combined ranking of No. 1 on 15 July 2019.

Early life

Shintaro Mochizuki was born on June 2, 2003, in

Kawasaki, Kanagawa Kawasaki, officially Kawasaki City, is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the main cities of the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area. It is the second most populated city in Kanagawa Prefecture after Yokohama ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. His name "Shintaro" was given by his father, inspired by the novelist and politician

Shintaro Ishihara was a Japanese politician and writer, who served as the Governor of Tokyo Metropolis, Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the Far-right politics, radical right Sunrise Party, later merged with Toru Hashimoto's Japan ...

. He started playing tennis at the age of 3. As a fifth grader, he represented Kawasaki Municipal Mukai Elementary School at the 32nd First Life National Elementary School Tennis Championship and managed to reach the semifinals. At the age of 12, he passed the selection test for the Masaaki Morita Tennis Fund and went to the United States to train at the

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a University-preparatory school, preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport ca ...

in Florida. He began attending N High School in 2019.

Career

2019: Juniors

In 2019 Mochizuki won the

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

title after becoming the first Japanese male to reach a Grand Slam juniors singles final. In September that year, he led the Japanese team to win the Junior Davis Cup in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

2021: ATP and Masters debuts

In February, Mochizuki made his ATP main draw debut as a wildcard at the 2021 Singapore Tennis Open where he lost to Altug Celikbilek in straight sets. In March, he qualified for his first ATP Masters 1000 main draw at the 2021 Miami Open having been given a wildcard for the qualifying competition.

2023: Maiden Challenger, Major debut, first ATP wins & semifinal, top 130

He won his first-ever trophy as a professional by winning the Open Città della Disfida Challenger in

Barletta Barletta (; Salentino: ''Varrétte'' or ''Barlétte'') is a city and ''comune'' in Apulia, in southeastern Italy. Barletta is the '' capoluogo'', together with Andria and Trani, of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. It has a population of a ...

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, defeating the Argentine Santiago Rodriguez Taverna in straight sets. He reached the top 200 at world No. 198 on 12 June 2023. In July, he made his Grand Slam debut after qualifying for the main draw of the

2023 Wimbledon Championships The 2023 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam (tennis), major tennis tournament that took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. Tournament The tournament was played on grass courts, wi ...

but lost in the first round to 16th seed Tommy Paul in straight sets. At the 2023 Hall of Fame Open he lost to

Liam Broady Liam Tarquin Broady ( ; born 4 January 1994) is a British professional tennis player who competes mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour. He reached a career high ranking of world No. 93 on 25 September 2023. Early and personal life Broady, the young ...

also in the first round. Ranked No. 215, he received a wildcard for the ATP 500 Japan Open. After nine attempts, he finally won his first match at the ATP Tour level, beating Tomás Martín Etcheverry in straight sets. Next he defeated top seed

Taylor Fritz Taylor Harry Fritz (born October 28, 1997) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on November 18, 2024, and a doubles ranking of ...

for his first top-10 win, to reach his first ATP tour-level quarterfinal. In the quarterfinals, he defeated

Alexei Popyrin Alexei Popyrin (born 5 August 1999) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 21 achieved on 9 June 2025. He also has a career-high ATP doubles rankin ...

to reach his first-ever semifinal. He became the lowest-ranked Tokyo semifinalist since then-World No. 479

Kelly Jones Kelly Jones (born 3 June 1974) is a Welsh musician and a founding member, lead singer, and guitarist of the rock band Stereophonics. Early life and debut Kelly Jones was born the youngest of three boys to Beryl and Arwyn Jones in the small We ...

in 1986. As a result, he moved up more than 80 positions to World No. 131 in the rankings on 23 October 2023. Following a quarterfinal showing at the Sydney Challenger he reached the top 130 in the rankings and 13th in the 2023 Next Generation ATP Finals race.

2024-2025: Australian and French Open debuts

He made his debut in the main draw at the 2024 Australian Open as a lucky loser but lost to

Tomáš Macháč Tomáš Macháč (; born 13 October 2000) is a Czech professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 20 on 3 March 2025 and doubles ranking of No. 46 on 30 September 20 ...

in straight sets. He also qualified for the main draw at the 2024 French Open. In January 2025, Mochizuki won his second Challenger at the 2025 Open Nouvelle-Calédonie title defeating

Moerani Bouzige Moerani Bouzige (born 13 July 1999) is an Australian tennis player. He has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 369 achieved on 26 May 2025. Personal life Bouzige's mother is from Tahiti, whilst his father is from France. Career 20 ...

in straight sets. In June, Mochizuki reached the semifinals at the Lexus Ilkley Open.

ATP Challenger Tour finals

Singles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

ITF World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Doubles: 7 (7 titles)

Junior Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Wins over top 10 players

* He has a win-loss record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10. :*'

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mochizuki, Shintaro 2003 births Living people Japanese male tennis players Wimbledon junior champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles Sportspeople from Bradenton, Florida Sportspeople from Kawasaki, Kanagawa 21st-century Japanese sportsmen Tennis players at the 2022 Asian Games