Tatsuma Ito (伊藤 竜馬, Itō Tatsuma, born 18 May 1988) is a Japanese professional tennis player. He has won 7 Challenger tournaments and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 60 in October 2012.[1]

Tatsuma Ito
Japanese: 伊藤 竜馬
Full nameTatsuma Ito
Country (sports) Japan
Born (1988-05-18) 18 May 1988 (age 36)
Inabe, Japan
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned proDecember 2006
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachAlexander Waske
Prize money$1,792,085[1]
Singles
Career record36–66
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 60 (22 October 2012)
Current rankingNo. 634 (4 March 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (2012, 2013, 2020)
French Open1R (2012, 2015)
Wimbledon1R (2012, 2014)
US Open2R (2014)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games1R (2012)
Doubles
Career record3–16
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 312 (9 June 2014)
Current rankingNo. 1377 (4 March 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
US Open1R (2012)
Last updated on: 9 March 2024.
Tatsuma Ito
Medal record
Representing  Japan
Men's Tennis
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Guangzhou Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Guangzhou Team
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Incheon Team
East Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2009 Hong Kong Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Hong Kong Doubles

Ito reached the quarterfinals of 's-Hertogenbosch and Moscow in 2012 and Newport and Bogota in 2015.

Career

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Junior career

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As a junior, he compiled a 28–9 win–loss record in singles (and 14–9 in doubles), achieving a combined ranking of No.75 in the world in October 2006.[2]

2007–09

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Ito had won six ITF Futures events in Asian countries, and started to play mainly in ATP Challenger Tour since 2008. In November 2009, he reached first challenger final in Toyota, losing to Uladzimir Ignatik with straight sets. In ATP World Tour event, Ito received wildcard for his first ATP main draw at the 2008 Japan Open in Tokyo.

2010

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In August, Ito claimed first challenger title in his career at Brasília by beating Izak van der Merwe in the final. After that, he reached third round of qualifying for the second straight year in 2010 US Open before losing to American Robert Kendrick. In later season, Ito earned men's singles bronze medal in 2010 Asian Games at Guangzhou, winning over defending champion Danai Udomchoke of Thailand in quarterfinals. He also earned men's team bronze medal. In Toyota challenger, he defeated his countryman Yuichi Sugita in the final to win second challenger title of the season.

2011: Grand Slam debut

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In April, Ito claimed his third challenger title in Recife after Tiago Fernandes withdrew before the finals, and he entered world's top 150 for the first time, climbing to no.133. The next month, he reached the Busan Challenger final. He defeated top seed Lu Yen-hsun in semifinal, but lost to Dudi Sela with three sets.

In American hard court season, Ito recorded his first ATP main draw win in Atlanta, winning over Michael Berrer in the first round. He fell in the second round to eighth seed Somdev Devvarman. He made his debut at a Grand Slam tournament at the 2011 US Open, losing to 25th seed Feliciano López in the first round. He took part in the Japan Open, and defeat Dudi Sela with three sets to proceed to the second round before losing to Australian Bernard Tomic. At the end of season, he successfully defended his title in Toyota where he beat Sebastian Rieschick in the final.

2012: Olympics participation, top 60

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Ito qualified for the Brisbane International, and got through the opening round against Benjamin Mitchell in straight sets. He received wildcard for 2012 Australian Open, and advanced to second round of the major tournaments for the first time, beating Italian Potito Starace with four sets. He was beaten by Nicolas Mahut in the next round. In March, Ito broke him into the top 100 for the first time, winning the Kyoto Challenger title by beating Malek Jaziri in final.

In spring clay court season, Ito reached the second round in Houston, winning over fellow Japanese Go Soeda. He was defeated by eventual champion Juan Mónaco. He faced world no.4 Andy Murray in the 2012 French Open first round, losing in straight sets.[3] In grass court season, Ito reached the round two in Queen's Club, and made his first ATP quarterfinal in the UNICEF Open. He knocked out third seed Jürgen Melzer on the way, but he eventually lost to Benoît Paire in straight sets. He suffered a first-round loss to Łukasz Kubot in 2012 Wimbledon Championships.

Ito represented Japan at his maiden Olympics in London 2012.[4] He competed in the singles competition, but fell in the first round to Milos Raonic of Canada in straight sets. In 2012 US Open, he lost to Matthew Ebden in opening round. Ito participated in the Japan Open with wildcard, and upset world no.12 Nicolás Almagro in first round.[5] He lost in the second round to Dmitry Tursunov. He reached quarterfinal in the Kremlin Cup to mark his career-high ranking world No.60, beating Roberto Bautista Agut and Konstantin Kravchuk. He lost to eventual champion Andreas Seppi.

2013

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Ito opened the season in Brisbane where he lost to qualifier John Millman in first round. He then entered into the 2013 Australian Open main draw, and got revenge over John Millman with five-setter.[6] He was beaten by 28th seed Marcos Baghdatis in second round. After falling in the second round to Sergiy Stakhovsky at Montpellier, Ito competed in Indian Wells to make his Masters main draw debut, losing to Evgeny Donskoy in opening round. In the Miami Masters, he also was eliminated in the first round by Olivier Rochus.

In Asian swing, Ito participated in the ATP events of Tokyo and Shanghai, falling in the first round both events. Two weeks later, he reached final in the Melbourne Challenger, losing to top seed Matthew Ebden in three sets.

2014: First top-5 win

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In grass court season, Ito won through the qualifying at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships by beating Ričardas Berankis from two sets down. He lost to lucky loser Simone Bolelli in the first round. He then participated in Hall of Fame Tennis Championships and got through first round, but retired during the second round match.

Ito qualified for the 2014 US Open, and advanced to second round after his opponent, Steve Johnson, retired due to cramping.[7] His run was ended by 19th seed Feliciano López in next match. In the Japan Open, Ito was given a wildcard and scored his career biggest win in the first round, beating top seed and reigning Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka 7–5, 6–2.[8] This was his first ever win over a top-5 player. He was beaten by unseeded Benjamin Becker in the second round. On the ATP Challenger Tour, Ito reached the finals of five tournaments, but lost in all matches.

2015

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Ito started the season by playing in Chennai, and reached second round before losing to Guillermo García-López in three sets. After falling to 31st seed Martin Kližan in the 2015 Australian Open first round, he made it to final in the Hong Kong Challenger, being beaten by Kyle Edmund. He competed in the 2015 French Open main draw for the first time since 2012, but he was eliminated in the first round by 28th seed Fabio Fognini.

Ito went on to participate in the Topshelf Open as a qualifier, and beat Ričardas Berankis in the first round. He was ousted by Ivo Karlović in the next round. Ito bounced back from the failure to qualify for the Wimbledon by reaching the quarterfinal in Newport, defeating seventh seed Steve Johnson and Noah Rubin. He then made back to back quarterfinal appearances in the Colombia Open by beating Alejandro Gómez and Matthew Ebden before losing to eventual champion Bernard Tomic in straight sets.

2016: First Masters win

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Ito qualified for the 2016 Australian Open main draw, losing to fellow qualifier Radek Štěpánek in the first round in four sets. In March, he won all his matches in the qualifying tournament of the Miami Open and recorded his first Masters main draw win after beating Nicolas Mahut in straight sets. He lost to 16th seed Gaël Monfils in the second round.

2024: Retirement

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in April 2024, Ito announced that he would retire at the end of the season.[9]

ATP Challenger and ITF finals

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Singles: 33 (15–18)

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Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (7–13)
ITF Futures Tour (8–5)
Titles by surface
Hard (12–12)
Clay (0–2)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (3–4)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Oct 2007 Japan F11, Tokyo Futures Hard   Phillip King 7–5, 6–2
Win 2–0 Feb 2008 Thailand F1, Nonthaburi Futures Hard   Yan Bai 3–6, 7–6(11–9), 6–4
Win 3–0 Mar 2008 Japan F1. Nishitama Futures Hard   Ti Chen 6–2, 6–4
Win 4–0 May 2008 Korea F1, Gimcheon Futures Hard   Alexey Kedryuk 1–6, 6–3, 7–6(9–7)
Win 5–0 Oct 2008 Japan F10, Kashiwa Futures Hard   Hiroki Kondo 5–7, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 5–1 Mar 2009 New Zealand F2, Hamilton Futures Hard   Carsten Ball 6–7(1–7), 2–6
Loss 5–2 Apr 2009 Korea F1, Daegu Futures Hard   Yongkyu Lim 6–7(1–7), 6–2, 1–6
Win 6–2 Apr 2009 Korea F2, Seogwipo Futures Hard   Yong-Bum Seo 6–4, 3–6, 6–1
Loss 6–3 Nov 2009 Toyota, Japan Challenger Carpet (i)   Uladzimir Ignatik 6–7(7–9), 6–7(3–7)
Win 7–3 Jun 2010 Guam F1, Tumon Futures Hard   Junn Mitsuhashi 6–2, 6–4
Win 8–3 Aug 2010 Brasília, Brazil Challenger Hard   Izak van der Merwe 6–4, 6–4
Win 9–3 Nov 2010 Toyota, Japan Challenger Carpet (i)   Yuichi Sugita 6–4, 6–2
Win 10–3 Apr 2011 Recife, Brazil Challenger Hard   Tiago Fernandes w/o
Loss 10–4 May 2011 Busan, South Korea Challenger Hard   Dudi Sela 2–6, 7–6(7–5), 3–6
Win 11–4 May 2011 Toyota, Japan Challenger Carpet (i)   Sebastian Rieschick 6–4, 6–2
Win 12–4 Mar 2012 Kyoto, Japan Challenger Carpet (i)   Malek Jaziri 6–7(5–7), 6–1, 6–2
Loss 12–5 Apr 2012 Kaohsiung, Taiwan Challenger Hard   Go Soeda 3–6, 0–6
Win 13–5 May 2012 Busan, South Korea Challenger Hard   John Millman 6–4, 6–3
Loss 13–6 Oct 2013 Melbourne, Australia Challenger Hard   Matthew Ebden 3–6, 7–5, 3–6
Loss 13–7 Feb 2014 West Lakes, Australia Challenger Hard   Bradley Klahn 3–6, 6–7(9–11)
Loss 13–8 Mar 2014 Kyoto, Japan Challenger Hard(i)   Martin Fischer 6–3, 5–7, 4–6
Loss 13–9 May 2014 Gimcheon, South Korea Challenger Hard   Gilles Müller 6–7(5–7) 7–5, 4–6
Loss 13–10 Sep 2014 Istanbul, Turkey Challenger Hard   Adrian Mannarino 0–6, 0–2, retired
Loss 13–11 Nov 2014 Toyota, Japan Challenger Carpet(i)   Go Soeda 4–6, 5–7
Loss 13–12 Feb 2015 Hong Kong, Hong Kong Challenger Hard   Kyle Edmund 1–6, 2–6
Loss 13–13 Nov 2016 Toyota, Japan Challenger Carpet(i)   James Duckworth 5–7, 6–4, 1–6
Win 14–13 Apr 2017 Japan F5, Kashiwa Futures Hard   Masato Shiga 6–4, 6–2
Loss 14–14 Apr 2017 Taipei, Taiwan Challenger Carpet(i)   Lu Yen-hsun 1–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss 14–15 Mar 2018 Yokohama, Japan Challenger Hard   Yasutaka Uchiyama 6–2, 3–6, 4–6
Win 15–15 Nov 2018 Kobe, Japan Challenger Hard (i)   Yosuke Watanuki 3–6, 7–5, 6–3
Loss 15–16 Sep 2022 M25, Sapporo, Japan Futures Hard   Rio Noguchi 1–6, 0–4, ret.
Loss 15–17 Mar 2023 M25, Canberra, Australia Futures Clay   Marc Polmans 0–6, 6–4, 4–6
Loss 15–18 Jun 2023 M15, Karuizawa, Japan Futures Clay   Yuta Kawahashi 5–7, 2–6

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

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Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (0–1)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 14 March 2009 Kyoto, Japan Carpet (i)   Takao Suzuki   Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
  Martin Slanar
7–6(9–7), 6–7(3–7), [6–10]

Singles performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (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.
Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Australian Open Q1 Q1 Q1 2R 2R Q1 1R 1R Q2 Q1 1R 2R Q1
French Open A A Q1 1R Q1 Q1 1R Q1 Q1 A Q1 Q1 Q1
Wimbledon A Q2 Q1 1R Q2 1R Q2 A Q3 Q1 Q1 NH Q2
US Open Q3 Q3 1R 1R Q3 2R Q1 A Q2 Q2 Q1 A Q1
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–4 1–1 1–2 0–2 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
Career Statistics
Titles–Finals 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
Year-end ranking 210 183 122 79 155 94 119 171 153 148 147 186 283

References

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  1. ^ a b ATP World Tour profile
  2. ^ "ITF Juniors Profile". Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  3. ^ "French Open: Andy Murray beats Tatsuma Ito in round one". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  4. ^ "ITF announces entries for Olympic Tennis Event" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  5. ^ "ITO UPSETS ALMAGRO IN FRONT OF HOME CROWD". Rakuten Japan Open. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  6. ^ "Gritty John Millman takes Tatsuma Ito to the brink". THE AUSTRALIAN. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  7. ^ "Steve Johnson out with cramping". ESPN. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  8. ^ "Tatsuma Ito tops Stan Wawrinka". ESPN. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  9. ^ "35歳の伊藤竜馬、今季限りで引退 12年ロンドン五輪代表/テニス". Sankei Sports (in Japanese). 2 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
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