Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori confirmed to represent Japan at Paris Olympics 2024

Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori will represent Japan at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The Japan Tennis Association (JTA) confirmed their participation.

The JTA announced that their tennis contingent at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be led by Osaka and Nishikori on Thursday, June 13, via a post on social media platform X. Naomi Osaka, currently ranked World No. 125, was awarded a special ranking from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and also secures her place at the competition as a former Grand Slam champion.

Kei Nishikori has also been given a special ranking to enter the men's singles main draw at the Olympic Games, set to begin on July 26. Nishikori is the only Japanese in the men's singles entry list.

Meanwhile, Osaka will be joined by World No. 76 Moyuka Uchijima in the women's singles competition. Only four athletes from one nation can compete in the singles category at the Olympic Games.

Naomi Osaka was eyeing qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics despite her ranking. She stated her wish to win a medal after her recent campaign at the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup in April.

"Growing up watching the Olympics on TV, I felt that it was a celebration of sport. I thought it brought everyone together and just to be able to be an athlete there and interact with other athletes is one of the funnest things that I’ve ever done," Osaka told the media.

"And if I do play, I have high ambitions of myself and I hope that I can do really well and get a medal," she added.

Naomi Osaka reached 3R at 2020 Tokyo Olympics; Kei Nishikori is a former bronze medalist

Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori at 2016 Rio Olympics

Naomi Osaka was the centrepiece of the opening ceremony of the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Japanese sporting icon lit the cauldron at the ceremony, marking the beginning of the sporting extravaganza. Osaka made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games and was seeded No. 2.

The four-time Grand Slam champion easily dispatched China's Zheng Saisai and Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic in her opening two matches before losing to eventual silver medalist Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic.

As for Kei Nishikori, he is the pride of Japan when it comes to Olympic tennis. The former World No. 4 has played at the Games four times in his career, making his debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He reached the quarterfinals at the 2012 London Games. At the 2016 Rio Games, Nishikori achieved the biggest career accolade by capturing the bronze medal.

The Japanese was the No. 4 seed and bettered Spain's Albert Ramos Vinolas, Australia's John Millman, Slovakia's Andrej Martin, and France's Gael Monfils before losing to eventual gold medalist Andy Murray of the UK. In the bronze medal match, Nishikori defeated Spain's Rafael Nadal.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Nishikori reached the quarterfinals. He defeated Andrey Rublev, USA's Marcos Giron, and Belarus' Ilya Ivashka but fell short against Serbia's Novak Djokovic.