Kurumi Nara

Kurumi Nara (奈良 くるみ, Nara Kurumi, born 30 December 1991) is a Japanese professional tennis player.

Kurumi Nara
奈良くるみ
Country (sports) Japan
ResidenceHyōgo, Japan
Born (1991-12-30) 30 December 1991
Osaka, Japan
Height1.55 m (5 ft 1 in)
Turned proApril 2009
PlaysRight-handed
(two-handed backhand)
CoachNatsuki Harada
Prize moneyUS$ 2,604,198
Singles
Career record335–274 (55.0%)
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 32 (18 August 2014)
Current rankingNo. 142 (16 March 2020)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open3R (2014)
French Open2R (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019)
Wimbledon2R (2010, 2014, 2015, 2016)
US Open3R (2013, 2017)
Doubles
Career record49–66 (42.6%)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 109 (2 May 2016)
Current rankingNo. 930 (16 March 2020)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open1R (2015, 2016, 2017)
French Open1R (2014, 2015, 2017)
Wimbledon2R (2015)
US Open1R (2014)
Team competitions
Fed Cup12–8
Last updated on: 16 April 2020.

She has won one singles title on the WTA Tour, as well as five singles titles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 18 August 2014, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 32. On 2 May 2016, she peaked at No. 109 in the WTA doubles rankings. She is coached by Takahiro Terachi.

Playing for Japan in Fed Cup, Nara has a win-loss record of 12–8.[1]

Junior career

Nara began playing tennis at the age of three. At the Esaka Tennis Center in Osaka, the budding pro player studied tennis under the tutelage of Japanese tennis luminaries Masaru Suishu and Hiroko Mochizuki. She won recognition from an early age as a tennis prodigy. In 2002, while enrolled in Kawanishi Makinodai Elementary School, Nara took second place in the All Japan Primary School Tennis Championships at the age of ten. She would go on to win that tournament in 2003.

In 2004, after entering the middle school associated with Osaka Sangyo University, Nara won the girls' singles title in the All Japan Middle School Tennis Championship. 2006 marked her debut, via sponsor recommendation, in the "All Japan Tennis Championships" women's singles draw; however, a first-round loss abruptly ended her tournament run. As a freshman at Osaka Sangyo's high school in 2007, Nara won the Under-18 singles title at the All Japan Junior Tennis Championships.

In addition to her participation in the major events for her age group, Nara also accumulated victories each year in junior tournaments throughout Japan. She enjoyed success in doubles on the ITF Junior Circuit with partner Misaki Doi, earning entrance to the girls' doubles draw at the Wimbledon Championships in 2007. They placed second overall, becoming only the second Japanese women's doubles pair to reach the finals of a Grand Slam juniors event since Yuka Yoshida and Hiroko Mochizuki at the 1993 US Open. The Nara–Doi team went on to reach the junior doubles semifinals at the 2007 US Open and Wimbledon 2008, in addition to strong performances at smaller tournaments.

Nara also enjoyed success in singles. In 2007, she became the first Japanese woman to win the Osaka Mayor's Cup since Ryōko Fuda in 2002. Also that year, she made her second appearance, again by sponsor recommendation, in the All Japan Tennis Championships. In the second round, she defeated defending champion and 5th seed Erika Takao in straight sets, in the third round, she toppled 11th seed Tomoko Yonemura in three sets, and in the quarterfinals she lost to Junri Namigata. Nara teamed again with Misaki Doi in doubles, reaching the second round in her tournament doubles debut. The next year, she partnered with Kimiko Date-Krumm to win the Kangaroo Cup in Gifu, and the title in the open tournament at Hamanako. She reached the third round of the 2008 US Open Girls' Singles tournament, where she lost to Kristina Mladenovic.

Professional career

2009–10

Nara turned pro in April 2009, winning the All Japan Tennis Championships that same year. She advanced to the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at the 2010 French Open with a three set win over Monica Niculescu in the qualifiers. At four hours and 42 minutes, it was said to be the longest women's Grand Slam qualifier or main draw match in history.[2] She would go on to lose her first round match to Arantxa Parra Santonja.[3] She also qualified for Wimbledon, and won her first Grand Slam main draw singles match in two sets over Mariana Duque Mariño.[4] She fell to Li Na in the second round.

2011–13

Nara failed to gain entrance to the four Grand Slam tournaments in 2011, falling in the qualifiers each time. July marked Nara's first appearance representing Japan in Fed Cup competition; she notched a win in doubles with partner Rika Fujiwara in the playoffs against Argentina. Although she was again unable to pass the qualifying rounds of the year's Grand Slam events, Nara bested Polona Hercog and Eleni Daniilidou to qualify for the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in 2012. She was defeated in the first round by Urszula Radwańska. Nara won three qualifying matches to enter the main draw of the 2013 US Open, winning her first-round match against Romanian Alexandra Cadanțu. She advanced to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time with a straight set upset victory over 19th-seeded Sorana Cîrstea, also of Romania. She lost to Jelena Janković in the third round. After four early exits in Tashkent, Guangzhou, Tokyo and Beijing, Nara regained some form in her home city at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. Nara would make it to the semifinals of the tournament but was ousted by Eugenie Bouchard, losing in straight sets.

2014: Improvement in majors, No. 32 ranking
Nara at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships

Nara started her 2014 season at the ASB Classic in New Zealand. She made it to the quarterfinals where she lost to second seed and eventual champion Ana Ivanovic.[5] At the Australian Open, Nara was defeated in the third round by eighth seed Jelena Janković.[6]

In early February, Nara competed in Fed Cup competition for Japan against Argentina in Buenos Aires.[7][8] She lost the opening singles match to María Irigoyen in three sets,[9] and also lost the reverse singles to Paula Ormaechea in straight sets.[10] Later the same month, Nara won her first WTA title at the Rio Open. She beat top seeded Klára Zakopalová in three sets in the final.[11][12] The win helped her break into the top 50 at No. 48.[13] At the Indian Wells Masters, Nara lost in the second round to Simona Halep in straight sets.[14] At the Miami Masters, she lost to 4th-seeded Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the second round.[15]

In April, Nara again played Fed Cup, this time against the Netherlands. She won the opening singles match against Arantxa Rus in three sets,[16] but lost to Kiki Bertens in three sets in the reverse singles match.[17] Her next match was a disappointing first-round loss at the Portugal Open to qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu in the first round.[18] Another first-round loss came in May against Peng Shuai at the Madrid Open.[19] In a rematch from the Fed Cup World II tie, Nara again lost to lucky loser Paula Ormaechea in her first-round match at the Italian Open.[20] As the 6th seed, she lost to Yaroslava Shvedova at the Nürnberger Versicherungscup in the second round.[21] Lost to 6th-seed Jelena Janković in the second round at the French Open.[22] Entered the doubles competition with Anna Karolína Schmiedlová losing in the first round to Chan Hao-ching & Chan Yung-jan.[23]

In June, Nara started the grass-court season at the Aegon Classic; for the second consecutive year, she lost to wildcard Johanna Konta in the first round.[24] Lost to Elina Svitolina in the first round at the Topshelf Open.[25] She played doubles with Annika Beck losing to Andreja Klepač & María Teresa Torró Flor in the first round,[26] and lost to Venus Williams in the second round at Wimbledon.[27] Partnering again with Annika Beck in doubles, Nara lost to Vera Dushevina and Chanelle Scheepers in the first round.[28]

In July, Nara as the sixth seed reached the quarterfinals losing to second-seeded Roberta Vinci at the İstanbul Cup.[29] Was seeded fourth but lost to Francesca Schiavone in first round at the Baku Cup.[30] Lost in the final against 6th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Citi Open.[31] Entered the doubles partnering with Hiroko Kuwata losing to the 2nd-seeded team of Shuko Aoyama & Gabriela Dabrowski in the finals.[32] Was scheduled to play in the Rogers Cup but withdrew with a hip injury.[33] Lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in the second round of the Western & Southern Open.[34] Playing in her last tournament before the US Open, lost to Samantha Stosur at the Connecticut Open in opening round.[35] Nara as the 31st seed playing at the US Open suffered a disappointing three-set loss to Belinda Bencic in the second round.[36] Also she entered the doubles with Shuko Aoyama losing to Jelena Janković & Klára Koukalová in the first round.[37]

In September, Nara withdrew from the Hong Kong Tennis Open. Lost to eighth-seeded Carla Suárez Navarro in the first round at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.[38] Entered again with Shuko Aoyama in the doubles losing to the second-seeded team of Raquel Kops-Jones & Abigail Spears in the first round.[39] Suffered another first-round loss at the Wuhan Open to Svetlana Kuznetsova.[40] Unseeded and playing singles only at the China Open, advanced to the second round losing again to Kuznetsova.[41] Was scheduled to be the 4th seed at the Japan Women's Open but withdrew with a respiratory illness.[42]

Playing style

Kurumi Nara rarely wins points outright. Instead, she plays a patient game and tends to edge into points, gradually increasing the angle and/or power of her shots and prefers a punishing forehand or volley to close the point out. Her patience is also reflected in her serve, which (especially for her size) has quite a high ball toss. Her serve lacks the punch of players like Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova, but depends on placement and spin. Her short stature has definitely shaped her play style which, while aggressive, does not emphasize power, but more swinging the momentum in her favour and finishing the point off. Her strong forehand is her main weapon.

Equipment

Nara who prefers to play on hard courts,[43] uses a Srixon racquet and Dunlop Sport shoes.

Performance timelines
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A P Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (P) postponed; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
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
Tournament20082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021SRW–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A Q2 Q3 Q3 Q2 3R 1R 2R 1R 1R Q2 Q2 Q1 0 / 5 3–5 38%
French Open A A 1R Q2 Q1 Q2 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R 2R Q3 0 / 7 5–7 42%
Wimbledon A A 2R Q2 Q1 Q3 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R Q1 NH 0 / 6 4–6 40%
US Open A A A Q2 Q2 3R 2R 2R 2R 3R 1R Q1 1R 0 / 7 7–7 50%
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 1–2 0–0 0–0 2–1 5–4 3–4 4–4 3–4 0–4 1–1 0–1 0–0 0 / 25 19–25 43%
Premier Mandatory tournaments
Indian Wells Open A A A A A A 2R 1R 3R 1R 1R A NH 0 / 5 3–5 38%
Miami Open A A A A A A 2R 3R Q1 1R Q1 A NH 0 / 3 3–3 50%
Madrid Open NH A A A A A 1R 1R A A A A NH 0 / 2 0–2 0%
China Open A A A A A Q1 2R A Q2 A A A NH 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Premier 5 tournaments
Dubai / Qatar Open A A A Q1 Q1 A A 1R A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Italian Open A A A A A A 1R Q1 A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Canadian Open A A Q1 A A A A A A Q1 A A NH 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Cincinnati Open NTI A Q2 A A A 2R Q2 2R Q1 Q1 A A 0 / 2 2–2 50%
Pan Pacific / Wuhan Open Q1 A 1R A 1R 1R 1R A A A A Q2 NH 0 / 4 0–4 0%
Career statistics
Tournaments 0 1 7 4 3 6 22 22 18 17 14 3 0 0 Career total: 117
Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career total: 1
Finals 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career total: 2
Overall Win–Loss 0–0 1–1 1–7 1–4 1–3 5–6 23–21 19–22 15–17 11–17 0–14 3–3 0–1 0–0 1 / 117 80–116 41%
Year-end ranking 463 174 131 144 157 76 44 83 78 101 167 144 160 $2,604,198

Doubles
Tournament200920102011201220132014201520162017 SRW–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A A A 1R 1R 1R 0 / 3 0–3 0%
French Open A A A A A 1R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 4 0–4 0%
Wimbledon A A A A A 1R 2R A A 0 / 2 1–2 33%
US Open A A A A A 1R A 1R A 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–3 1–3 0–3 0–2 0 / 11 1–11 8%
Career statistics
Year-end ranking 247 1018 491 1229 366 255 148 258 427 $2,604,198

WTA career finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0)
Premier (0–0)
International (1–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Feb 2014 Rio Open, Brasil International Clay Klára Zakopalová 6–1, 4–6, 6–1
Loss 1–1 Aug 2014 Citi Open, United States International Hard Svetlana Kuznetsova 3–6, 6–4, 4–6

Doubles: 2 (runner-ups)
Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0)
Premier (0–0)
International (0–2)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 2014 Citi Open, United States International Hard Hiroko Kuwata Shuko Aoyama
Gabriela Dabrowski		 1–6, 2–6
Loss 0–2 Sep 2015 Japan Women's Open, Japan International Hard Misaki Doi Chan Yung-jan
Chan Hao-ching		 1–6, 2–6

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 12 (6 titles, 6 runner–ups)
Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000/80,000 tournaments
$50,000/60,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$15,000 tournaments
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Oct 2008 ITF Hamanako, Japan 25,000 Carpet Chinami Ogi 6–2, 6–3
Loss 1–1 Jun 2009 ITF Komoro, Japan 25,000 Clay Yurika Sema 3–6, 6–1, 4–6
Win 2–1 Aug 2009 ITF Obihiro, Japan 25,000 Carpet Junri Namigata 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 6–4
Loss 2–2 Sep 2009 ITF Tsukuba, Japan 25,000 Hard Suchanun Viratprasert 3–6, 4–6
Loss 2–3 Feb 2010 ITF Surprise, United States 25,000 Hard Abigail Spears 1–6, 2–6
Loss 2–4 Jul 2010 ITF Grapevine, United States 50,000 Hard Jamie Hampton 3–6, 4–6
Win 3–4 Jul 2010 ITF Lexington, United States 50,000 Hard Stéphanie Dubois 6–4, 6–4
Loss 3–5 Aug 2011 ITF Beijing, China 75,000 Hard Hsieh Su-wei 2–6, 2–6
Win 4–5 Oct 2011 ITF Grapevine, United States 50,000 Hard Sesil Karatantcheva 1–6, 6–0, 6–3
Win 5–5 Jul 2013 ITF Portland, United States 50,000 Clay Alison Riske 3–6, 6–3, 6–3
Loss 5–6 Feb 2018 ITF Rancho Santa Fe, United States 25,000 Hard Asia Muhammad 4–6, 6–2, 6–7(3–7)
Win 6–6 May 2018 ITF Gifu, Japan 80,000 Hard Moyuka Uchijima 6–2, 7–6(7–4)

Doubles 7 (3 titles, 4 runner–ups)
Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$80,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$15,000 tournaments
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 May 2008 ITF Gifu, Japan 50,000 Carpet Kimiko Date-Krumm Melanie South
Nicole Thyssen		 6–1, 6–7(8–10), [10–7]
Win 2–0 Jul 2008 ITF Miyazaki, Japan 25,000 Carpet Misaki Doi Kimiko Date-Krumm
Tomoko Yonemura		 4–6, 6–3, [10–7]
Loss 2–1 May 2009 ITF Gifu, Japan 50,000 Carpet Misaki Doi Sophie Ferguson
Aiko Nakamura		 2–6, 1–6
Loss 2–2 Aug 2009 ITF Obihiro, Japan 25,000 Carpet Rika Fujiwara Natsumi Hamamura
Ayumi Oka		 6–3, 1–6, [5–10]
Win 3–2 Sep 2009 ITF Makinohara, Japan 25,000 Carpet Erika Sema Mari Tanaka
Tomoko Yonemura		 6–0, 6–0
Loss 3–3 May 2013 ITF Saint-Gaudens, France 50,000 Clay Stéphanie Dubois Julia Glushko
Paula Ormaechea		 5–7, 6–7(11–13)
Loss 3–4 Nov 2015 ITF Tokyo, Japan 100,000 Hard Eri Hozumi Shuko Aoyama
Makoto Ninomiya		 6–3, 2–6, [7–10]

Wins over top 10 players per season
Season2017Total
Wins11
# Player Rank Event Surface Round Score
2017
1. Svetlana Kuznetsova No. 8 US Open, United States Hard 2nd Round 6–3, 3–6, 6–3

References
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