Brandon Nakashima

Brandon Nakashima (born August 3, 2001) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 29 in singles by the ATP, which he achieved on 5 May 2025. He reached a career-high doubles ranking of No. 240 on 10 June 2024.
Nakashima won the 2022 Next Generation ATP Finals.

As a junior, Nakashima was ranked as high as No. 3 in the world. In 2018, he won two titles on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior circuit and went on to win that year's ITF Junior Masters, the year-end tournament for the top-ranked junior singles players.

Collegiate career

Nakashima graduated from high school, High Bluff Academy in San Diego, a semester early, before enrolling at the University of Virginia in January 2019 at the age of 17 to play collegiate tennis for the Virginia Cavaliers. During his time at UVA, he finished the season with a 17–5 record in singles and 20–3 record in doubles. At the end of the season, he received the ACC-Freshman of the Year and All-ACC First Team awards, and also was selected for the All-ACC Academic Team. After one semester, he decided to forgo his remaining years of eligibility and turn professional.

Professional career

2020: ATP and Grand Slam debuts

In February 2020, Nakashima received a wildcard into the Delray Beach Open (his first ATP main draw event), where he reached the quarterfinals, defeating Jiří Veselý and Cameron Norrie before falling to Yoshihito Nishioka.

Later in the year, on his Grand Slam main draw debut as a wildcard at the US Open, Nakashima defeated Paolo Lorenzi before being beaten by fifth seed and eventual runner-up, Alexander Zverev.

2021: Two ATP finals, Next Gen finals

Nakashima qualified into a Grand Slam main draw for the first time at Wimbledon. He lost in the first round to compatriot and 31st seed, Taylor Fritz.

Nakashima reached his first final in Los Cabos, where after beating J. J. Wolf, fourth seed Sam Querrey, fifth seed Jordan Thompson (after saving 3 match points), and second seed John Isner, he lost to top seed Cameron Norrie in the final. From this run, the 19-year-old Nakashima became the youngest American to reach an ATP final since a then 18-year-old Taylor Fritz got to the final of the Memphis Open in 2016.

A week later in Atlanta, Nakashima reached his second final in as many weeks but lost to sixth seed John Isner in the championship match. As a result of this good run, Nakashima cracked the top 100 for the first time, coming in at world No. 89 on August 2, 2021, a day before his 20th birthday.

As a qualifier at the 2021 European Open, he reached the quarterfinals where he lost to Diego Schwartzman. As a result, he reached a new career-high ranking of No. 70 on 25 October 2021.

Nakashima qualified for the 2021 Next Generation ATP Finals as the fourth seed in recognition of his breakout success in the year among players aged 21 and under. In his group, he notched wins against Juan Manuel Cerúndolo and Holger Rune, taking him to the semifinals, before he lost to eventual finalist Sebastian Korda in five sets. He ended the year at a career-high of No. 62 and was nominated ATP Newcomer of the Year.

2022: San Diego and Next Gen titles, top 50

At the 2022 French Open, Nakashima reached the third round of a major for the first time, where he lost to third seed Alexander Zverev.

At the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, he reached the fourth round of a Major for the first time in his career defeating Daniel Elahi Galán. He lost a tight five-set contest to eventual runner-up Nick Kyrgios. He reached the top 50 in the rankings on 11 July 2022, at world No. 49.

Seeded fifth at his home tournament, the 2022 San Diego Open, he reached his third ATP final after defeating Christopher O'Connell. In the final, he defeated Marcos Giron to win his first career title. He qualified for the 2022 Next Generation ATP Finals and won the title undefeated after beating Jack Draper in the semifinal and Jiří Lehečka in the final.

2023: Shanghai third round, top 5 win

He reached his fourth ATP semifinal in Lyon with wins over Diego Schwartzman, Arthur Rinderknech, third seed Tommy Paul before losing to the eventual champion Arthur Fils.

He exited the top 100 on 25 September 2023 despite a second round showing at the 2023 Citi Open and a third round at the 2023 Winston-Salem Open.

He received a wildcard for the Cincinnati Open.
At the next ATP 1000 in Shanghai on his debut, he reached the third round for the first time in his career at this ATP level, defeating world No. 4 and third seed Holger Rune for his maiden top-10 and top-5 win. Despite this result he fell out of the top 150 on 30 October 2023.

2024–2025: US Open fourth round, ATP 500 semifinal, top 35

He returned to the top 100 at No. 96 on 29 January 2024 following a title at the 2024 Tenerife Challenger, in Spain.

He received a wildcard for the 2024 BNP Paribas Open where he defeated Christopher Eubanks. At the next ATP 1000, the 2024 Miami Open, he reached the main draw after qualifying.
At the ATP 500 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, he defeated second seed Andrey Rublev, for his second top 10 win in his career. He qualified for the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open and for the Italian Open. He reached the second round at the 2024 French Open with a win over wildcard Nicolas Moreno de Alboran, before losing to eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz.

At the 2024 BOSS Open in Stuttgart, he reached the semifinals defeating seventh seed Jan-Lennard Struff by walkover and returned to the top 65 in the rankings on 17 June 2024. He lost to eventual champion Jack Draper. At the next grass tournament the following week, the 2024 Queen's Club Championships, he defeated wildcard Dan Evans by retirement, using special exempt to enter the main draw. He also reached the third round at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships upsetting 18th seed Sebastian Baez and defeating Jordan Thompson. As a result, he returned to the top 55 in the rankings on 15 July 2024.

Following the 2024 National Bank Open, he reached back the top 50 in the rankings on 12 August 2024. He recorded a first round win at this Masters over local wildcard Denis Shapovalov and an upset over the tenth seed, Tommy Paul, to reach the round of 16 as a qualifier, only his second third round at a Masters level.
He received a wildcard for the main draw of the next Masters 1000, his home tournament, the 2024 Cincinnati Open. He reached back-to-back rounds of 16 with upsets over 11th seed Taylor Fritz and Arthur Fils.
At the 2024 US Open, he reached the fourth round for a second time at a Grand Slam with an upset over 15th seed Holger Rune, Arthur Cazaux and 18th seed Lorenzo Musetti, before his run was ended by fourth seed Alexander Zverev. As a result, he moved into the top 40 in the rankings on 9 September 2024.
At the 2024 Hangzhou Open he reached his 14th ATP Tour quarterfinal, saving two match points against qualifier Coleman Wong. Next, he defeated Rinky Hijikata to reach his sixth ATP tour semifinal and second for 2024. Nakashima lost in the last four to eventual champion Marin Čilić. At the next Asian swing tournament, the 2024 Japan Open Tennis Championships, he continued his good form, defeating seventh seed Frances Tiafoe in straight sets in the first round. Nakashima lost to Ugo Humbert in the second round.

At the ATP 500 2025 Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Nakashima reached the semifinals with an upset win over fourth seed Holger Rune again this time by retirement, and then David Goffin. As a result he reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 33 on 3 March 2025.

World TeamTennis

Nakashima made his World TeamTennis debut in 2020 with the Chicago Smash for their inaugural season.

Nakashima excelled in singles play for the Smash and also paired up with Rajeev Ram throughout the season in men's doubles to help Chicago earn a No. 2 seed in WTT Playoffs. The Smash defeated the Orlando Storm to earn a spot in the final, but ultimately fell to the New York Empire in a Supertiebreaker.

Personal life

Nakashima's father is a Japanese American born in California, while his mother was born in Vietnam and moved to California at age 5.

Nakashima's brother, Bryce, is also a professional tennis player. The two paired up in doubles at the 2024 Atlanta Open.

Performance timeline

Singles

''Current through the 2025 BOSS Open.''

ATP Tour finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

ATP Next Generation finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

ATP Challenger and ITF Tour finals

Singles: 8 (6 titles, 2 runner-ups)

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

Wins over top 10 players

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

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakashima, Brandon
2001 births
Living people
American male tennis players
American sportspeople of Vietnamese descent
American tennis players of Japanese descent
Sportspeople of Vietnamese descent
Virginia Cavaliers men's tennis players
Tennis players from San Diego
21st-century American sportsmen