Injured Kei Nishikori, Ranked No. 703, to Retire at Japan Open After Historic Career

Kei Nishikori will conclude his professional tennis career at the Japan Open in Tokyo later this year. The 36-year-old received a wild card invitation from tournament organizers, the ATP Tour confirmed Tuesday. Nishikori made his professional debut in 2007.

U.S. Open title match, where he lost in straight sets to Croatia's Marin Cilic. Nishikori reached a career-high ranking of No.

4 in the ATP standings on two occasions and remains the highest-ranked Japanese man in the history of the rankings. He also won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics after defeating Rafael Nadal. Michael Chang, the 1989 French Open champion who previously coached Nishikori, said the player's achievements stand out because they came during the era of the Big Three and Big Four.

"For him to get to No. 4 in the world on two different occasions is not easy," Chang told The Associated Press at the French Open. " Nishikori has competed exclusively on the lower-tier Challenger tour this year after dealing with injuries and is currently ranked No.

703. Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, a former world No. 1, said she drew inspiration from Nishikori's accomplishments. "Being Japanese, being able to look up to him, seeing everything he's achieved, in a world where Japanese tennis hasn't been able to go as far as he did in that moment in time, it was just so inspiring," Osaka said in Paris.

Chang added that Nishikori is entering a new phase of life. "He's approaching a different stage in his life and maybe he doesn't agree with me but I think he's going to have more important and more exciting things with his young family," Chang said.