Brandon Nakashima

Brandon Nakashima

Nakashima at the 2022 French Open
Country (sports)	United States
Residence	San Diego, California, United States
Born	(2001-08-03) August 3, 2001 (age 23) San Diego, California, United States
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Turned pro	2019
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
College	University of Virginia
Coach	Davide Sanguinetti
Prize money	US $4,589,254
Singles
Career record	95–80
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 35 (September 30, 2024)
Current ranking	No. 37 (November 4, 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	1R (2022, 2023)
French Open	3R (2022)
Wimbledon	4R (2022)
US Open	4R (2024)
Doubles
Career record	5–12
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 240 (June 10, 2024)
Current ranking	No. 387 (November 11, 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Wimbledon	1R (2023)
US Open	1R (2021, 2024)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	QF (2024)
Last updated on: November 12, 2024.

Brandon Nakashima (born August 3, 2001) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 35 in singles by the ATP, which he achieved on September 30, 2024. On June 10, 2024, he reached a career-high doubles ranking of No. 240. ^[1] 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 at the USTA 18s Nationals in 2018

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. 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 was also a part of the All-ACC Academic Team. ^[2] 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, ^[3] defeating Jiří Veselý and Cameron Norrie before falling to Yoshihito Nishioka. ^[4]

Later in the year, on his Grand Slam main draw debut as a wildcard at the US Open, Nakashima defeated Paolo Lorenzi ^[5] before being beaten by fifth seed and eventual runner-up, Alexander Zverev. ^[6]

2021: Two ATP finals, Next Gen finals

Nakashima at the 2021 Nottingham Open

Nakashima qualified into a Grand Slam main draw for the first time at Wimbledon. ^{[7] [8] [9]} He lost in the first round to compatriot and 31st seed, Taylor Fritz. ^[10]

Nakashima reached his first final in Los Cabos, where after beating J. J. Wolf, 4th seed Sam Querrey, 5th seed Jordan Thompson (after saving 3 match points), ^[11] and 2nd seed John Isner, ^[12] he lost to 1st seed Cameron Norrie in the final. ^[13] 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 6th seed John Isner in the championship match. ^[14] 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. ^[15]

As a qualifier at the 2021 European Open, he reached the quarterfinals where he lost to Diego Schwartzman. ^[16] As a result, he reached a new career-high ranking of No. 70 on October 25, 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. ^[17] In his group, he notched wins against Juan Manuel Cerúndolo ^[18] and Holger Rune, ^[19] taking him to the semifinals, before he lost to eventual finalist Sebastian Korda in five sets. ^[20] He ended the year at a career-high of No. 62 and was nominated ATP Newcomer of the Year. ^[21]

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 3rd seed Alexander Zverev. ^[22]

At the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, he reached the fourth round of a Major for the first time in his career defeating Daniel Elahi Galán. ^[23] He lost a tight five-set contest to eventual runner-up Nick Kyrgios. ^[24] He reached the top 50 on July 11, 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. ^[25] In the final, he defeated Marcos Giron to win his first career title. ^{[26] [27]} He qualified for the 2022 Next Generation ATP Finals and won the title undefeated after beating Jack Draper in the semifinal ^[28] and Jiří Lehečka in the final. ^[29]

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 September 25, 2023 despite a second round showing at the 2023 Citi Open ^[30] and a third round at the 2023 Winston-Salem Open.

He received a wildcard for the Cincinnati Open. At the next Masters 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. ^[31] Despite this result he fell out of the top 150 on October 30. 2023.

2024: US Open fourth round, top 35

He returned to the top 100 at No. 96 on January 29, 2024 following a title at the 2024 Tenerife Challenger, in Spain. ^[1]

He received a wildcard for the 2024 BNP Paribas Open where he defeated Christopher Eubanks. ^[32] At the next Masters, the 2024 Miami Open, he reached the main draw after qualifying. ^[33] At the ATP 500 2024 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, he defeated second seed Andrey Rublev, for his second top 10 win in his career. ^{[34] [35] [36]} He qualified for the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open and for the Italian Open. ^[37] He reached the second round at the 2024 French Open with a win over wildcard Nicolas Moreno de Alboran, ^[38] before losing to eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz. ^[39]

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 June 17, 2024. He lost to eventual champion Jack Draper. ^[40] 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 July 15, 2024. ^[41]

Following the 2024 National Bank Open, he reached back the top 50 in the rankings on August 12, 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 ^[42] and 18th seed Lorenzo Musetti, ^[43] before his run was ended by 4th seed Alexander Zverev. ^[44] As a result, he moved into the top 40 in the rankings on September 9, 2024. At the 2024 Hangzhou Open he reached his 14th ATP Tour quarterfinal, saving two match points against qualifier Coleman Wong. ^[45] Next, he defeated Rinky Hijikata to reach his sixth ATP tour semifinal and second for 2024. ^[46] Nakashima lost in the last four to eventual champion Marin Čilić. ^[47] 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. ^[48] Nakashima lost to Ugo Humbert in the second round. ^[49]

World TeamTennis

Nakashima made his World TeamTennis debut in 2020 with the Chicago Smash for their inaugural season. ^[50]

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. ^{[51] [52]}

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

Performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

P#

DNQ

A

Z#

PO

G

S

B

NMS

NTI

P

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles

Current through the 2024 Belgrade Open.

Tournament	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	SR	W–L	Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	A	A	Q1	1R	1R	Q1	0 / 2	0–2	0%
French Open	A	A	Q1	Q1	3R	1R	2R	0 / 3	3–3	50%
Wimbledon	A	A	NH	1R	4R	1R	3R	0 / 4	5–4	56%
US Open	Q2	A	2R	2R	3R	1R	4R	0 / 5	7–5	58%
Win–loss	0–0	0–0	1–1	1–2	7–4	0–4	6–3	0 / 14	15–14	52%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters	Q1	A	NH	2R	2R	2R	2R	0 / 4	4–4	50%
Miami Open	A	A	NH	Q2	2R	2R	1R	0 / 3	2–3	40%
Monte-Carlo Masters	A	A	NH	A	A	A	A	0 / 0	0–0	–
Madrid Open	A	A	NH	A	Q1	A	1R	0 / 1	0–1	0%
Italian Open	A	A	A	A	1R	1R	1R	0 / 3	0–3	0%
Canadian Open	A	A	NH	A	1R	1R	3R	0 / 3	2–3	40%
Cincinnati Masters	A	A	Q1	1R	1R	1R	3R	0 / 4	2–4	33%
Shanghai Masters	A	A	NH			3R	2R	0 / 2	2–2	50%
Paris Masters	A	A	A	A	1R	A	1R	0 / 2	0–2	0%
Win–loss	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–2	2–6	4–6	5–8	0 / 22	12–22	35%
Career statistics
Tournaments	0	0	2	10	24	20	23	Career total: 79
Titles	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	Career total: 1
Finals	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	Career total: 3
Overall win–loss	0–0	0–0	3–2	17–12	35–23	13–20	27–23	1 / 79	95–80	54%
Year-end ranking	790	371	166	68	47	134

ATP Tour finals

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

Legend Grand Slam (0–0) ATP Masters 1000 (0–0) ATP 500 (0–0) ATP 250 (1–2)

Finals by surface Hard (1–2) Clay (0–0) Grass (0–0)

Finals by setting Outdoor (1–2) Indoor (0–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Jul 2021	Los Cabos Open, Mexico	ATP 250	Hard	Cameron Norrie	2–6, 2–6
Loss	0–2	Jul 2021	Atlanta Open, United States	ATP 250	Hard	John Isner	6–7(8–10), 5–7
Win	1–2	Sep 2022	San Diego Open, United States	ATP 250	Hard	Marcos Giron	6–4, 6–4

ATP Next Generation finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Result	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	Nov 2022	Next Generation ATP Finals, Italy	Hard (i)	Jiří Lehečka	4–3(7–5), 4–3(8–6), 4–2

ATP Challenger and ITF Tour finals

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

Legend ATP Challenger Tour (4–2) ITF Futures/WTT (2–0)

Finals by surface Hard (6–2) Clay (0–0) Grass (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Nov 2020	Orlando Open, USA	Challenger	Hard	Prajnesh Gunneswaran	6–3, 6–4
Win	2–0	Feb 2021	Open Quimper Bretagne, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	Bernabé Zapata Miralles	6–3, 6–4
Win	3–0	Oct 2021	Brest Challenger, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	João Sousa	6–3, 6–3
Loss	3–1	Nov 2023	Good to Great Challenger, Sweden	Challenger	Hard (i)	Maximilian Marterer	6–2, 4–6, 3–6
Win	4–1	Jan 2024	Tenerife Challenger, Spain	Challenger	Hard	Pedro Martínez	6–3, 6–4
Loss	4–2	Jan 2024	Koblenz Open, Germany	Challenger	Hard (i)	Jurij Rodionov	7–6(9–7), 1–6, 2–6

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Sep 2018	USA F25, Laguna Niguel	Futures	Hard	Maxime Cressy	6–4, 6–4
Win	2–0	Jan 2020	M25 Rancho Santa Fe, USA	WTT	Hard	Geoffrey Blancaneaux	6–3, 6–3

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

Legend ATP Challenger Tour (2–1) ITF Futures/WTT (0–0)

Finals by surface Hard (2–1) Clay (0–0) Grass (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Feb 2021	Open Quimper Bretagne, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	Hunter Reese	Ruben Bemelmans Daniel Masur	2–6, 1–6
Win	1–1	Oct 2023	Trofeo Faip–Perrel, Italy	Challenger	Hard (i)	Evan King	Francisco Cabral Henry Patten	6–4, 7–6(7–1)
Win	2–1	Feb 2024	Teréga Open Pau–Pyrénées, France	Challenger	Hard (i)	Christian Harrison	Romain Arneodo Sam Weissborn	7–6(7–5), 6–4

Wins over top 10 players

• He has a 2–10 record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.

Season	2019–22	2023	2024	Total
Wins	0	1	1	2

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Rd	Score	BNR	Ref
2023
1.	Holger Rune	5	Shanghai Masters, China	Hard	2R	6–0, 6–2	122	[53]
2024
2.	Andrey Rublev	8	Barcelona Open, Spain	Clay	2R	6–4, 7–6(8–6)	87	[54]

References

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External links

• Brandon Nakashima at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Brandon Nakashima at the International Tennis Federation