Round two on the women’s draw at Roland Garros will see a battle of the number 1’s….the number one Belarussian player, in Aryna Sabalenka, taking on the number one Japanese player, Moyuka Uchijima.
Aryna needs no introduction to even the most casual of tennis fans, but if you haven’t heard of Moyuka, here’s a quick snapshot of what she’s been up to.
Moyuka is currently 22 years old, and made her WTA debut aged just 17, when she entered the qualifying of the WTA Pan Pacific Open, in Japan. She drew Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in the opening round, and was defeated 6-1 6-1. She also received a Wildcard into the doubles event, likewise going down in the opening round.
She continued to ply her trade on the ITF Tour, but didn’t play again on the WTA Tour for a full 12 months later, when she entered the Japan Open, in Hiroshima, this time winning a round of qualifying, but going down in her second encounter.
The next 18 months or so, were pretty much wiped out due to Covid, stalling her career before it really got going. But once the tennis circuit began to open up, Moyuka really started to make a move. At the beginning of 2022, her ranking sat at 349. By the end of the year, she was on the cusp of the top 100, at 107, thanks to 3 ITF titles, a further two finals, and some more regular appearances on the main WTA tour.
Uchijima made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open in 2023, going down to Bernarda Pera in a tight 3 setter. From there, with a ranking hovering in the 120-140 range, it seems as though she found herself in that awkward position of trying to decide whether to play qualifying for the big events, or drop back down to rack up the ITF points. Unfortunately, she couldn’t quite get the consistency a tennis player needs, meaning her ranking slipped, almost back to 200 by the end of the 2023 season.
But 2024 has seen a resurgence from the Japanese star, firstly taking out a W50 ITF event in India during January, reaching the semis of a 125 event in Turkey, before lighting up during the clay season.
Since the start of April, Uchijima has won the W100 in Zaragoza, Spain, made the quarter-finals of the W100 in Tokyo, then reeled off 15 straight wins on the ITF tour, claiming the titles of the W100 in Gifu, Japan, the W75 in Trnava, Slovak Republic, and the W100 in Madrid, Spain.
Her amazing run led her to Roland Garros qualifying, where she was far from finished, cruising through her three matches.
In the final round of qualifying Uchijima defeated Raluca Georgiana Serban, of Cyprus 7-5 6-4 following wins against Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi and former junior world No. 1 Petra Marcinko of Croatia – all without dropping a set.
If Uchijima had any nerves entering just her second main draw at a major, and first at Roland Garros, she certainly didn’t show it. Taking on Spanish qualifier, Irene Burillo Escorihuela, Moyuka was relentless, allowing her opponent just 2 games, in what appeared to be a continuation of form, which currently stands at 19 straight wins.
Hitting 24 winners to 5, and committing just 15 unforced errors, Uchijima gave a glimpse to the wider tennis world, just why she might be the next big thing in Japan.
Next up for her though, lies the Australian Open champion, and world number 2, Aryna Sabalenka, who is one of the biggest hitters on the tour, and will definitely be the sternest test in her career. She has played against top 50 players (at the time), Jasmine Paolini, and Lesia Tsurenko. But the highest ranked player she’s beaten, is Dutchwoman, Arantxa Rus, whom she beat in 3 sets, back in April. At that stage, Rus was ranked 53.
This makes the step up to Sabalenka even more interesting. Will Uchijima be able to keep her mind free, and take the ‘nothing to lose’ attitude, along with her stellar form? If she does, she may cause a few troubles for the Belarussian. On the other hand, if she goes into defensive mode, and doesn’t play the game she’s been displaying this year, it could be a quick lesson.
She currently has a live ranking of 74, so regardless of what happens in this match, Moyuka is going to get plenty more chances at the big events, and will be one to watch for the rest of the season.
