Osaka, Nishikori secure spots for Tokyo Olympics

Jun 15, 2021 | News On Japan

Jun 15, 2021 (NHK) - The latest world rankings show that Japanese tennis stars Osaka Naomi and Nishikori Kei have secured places for the Tokyo Olympics.

The singles rankings announced on Monday reflect the results of the French Open that ended on Sunday.

Men and women ranked in the top 56 will qualify for the Tokyo Games.

Osaka pulled out of the French Open after skipping a post-match news conference, citing concerns about her mental health. But she retained her world number-two ranking, winning an Olympic berth for the first time.

Another Japanese player, Nishioka Yoshihito, overtook Nishikori to rise to 56th in the men's singles ranking, also qualifying for the first time.

Nishikori dropped to 57th place, but is certain to win a spot in the Games because the maximum numbers of singles players for each country or region are limited to four each for men and women. Nishikori will be playing in his fourth consecutive Olympics.

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